1 



I 



- 



A Diary of My Life 
Holy Land 



COPYRIGHTED 1906 BY A. E. BREEM 



Rochester, N. y. 
John P. Smith Printing Company 
1906 



Diary of My Li 

IN THE 

Holy Land 

BY 

Dr. A. E. BREEX 

H 

AUTHOR OF "GENERAL INTRODUCTION" TO HOLY SCRIPTURE." AND 
"A HARMONIZED EXPOSITION" OF THE FOUR GOSPELS." 




ILLUSTRATED 



jTlBRARY of CONGRESS 

Two Copies Received 

DEC 2® W06 

f Copyright Entry 
CLASS A XXtf, No. 
COPY B. ■ 





Rochester, N. Y., 
December /, 



LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS 



The Author 

Leaving the Steamship at Jaff 
Through the Rocks at Jaffa 
Jaffa . 



Bazaar of Jaffa . 
Market-Place of Jaffa 
Road from R. R. Station" to J 
Map of Jerusalem (ancient) 
Jaffa Street .... 
Panorama of Jerusalem 

Arab Cafe 

Muslim Woman . . 
Coptic Priests 
Camel Drivers 
Street of Jerusalem . 
Via Dolorosa .... 
Arab Horse .... 
Encampment in the Deser 
Armenian Priests 
Greek Priests 

Map Showing Conjectural Second 
Map of Second Wall (Vincent) 
Tomb called of Xicodemus 
Plan of Xicodemus' Tomb 
Grotto of Jeremiah . . 
Face of Rock at Jeremiah's Grotto 
Gordon's Calvary . 
Royal Caverns .... 
Entrance to Gordon's Holy 
Gordon's Holy Sepulchre 



Frontii 



page 
spiece 



Mosaic Lamb at St. Etienn 
A Halt in the Desert . 
Outside the Jaffa Gate 
Gordon's Calvary . 
Valley of Hinnom . . 
Mount of Olives . 
Grotto of St. Helena . 
Gethsemane ..... 
Olive Tree in Gethsemane 
The Grotto of the Agony 
Damascus Gate .... 
Pool of Hezekiah . 
Ganaanite Altar 
Bed of Kidron and Absalom's Tomb 

Virgin's Fount 

The Portable Altar in Gethsemane 



Sepu 



YY 



S 

9 
1 1 

12 
13 

15 
26 



47 
49 
6 3 
64 

67 
6S 

78 

79 
So 
Si 

S2 

83 
S6 
SS 
90 

9i 
02 

95 
97 
100 
101 
102 
104 
105 
10S 
110 
in 
"3 



PAGE 

ZlON u- 

Road from Jerusalem to Bethlehem . 117 

Bringing the Grist to the Mill . . . 11S 

A Jewish Type 119 

Barbers . . . . ' 123 

Grinding with Hand-Mill 127 

Ramallah . . . 129 

Jewish Tinsmith . . . , 134 

Threshing-Sledge 142 

Porters . 143-145 

fellahin 147 

Worker in Mother-of-Peari 150 

Sellers of Vegetables 1^2 

Water-Carrier 

Seller of Fowl 1^9 

Muslim Schoolmaster 167 

Ploughing 1S0 

A Camel Ploughing 182 

Dress of Women 1S7 

Muslim Prayer igi 

Lepers '. 197 

Beggars jgS 

Harem Scenes , 200-201 

Arab Women 203 

Arab Dinner 204 

The Harvest . 206 

Going to Market 207— 20S 

Gleaning ". 209 

Bringing Home the Bride 214 

Musicians in Marriage Procession . . 21; 

Bedawin Fiddlers '. . 217 

Bedawin Camp 230 

Baking Bread 232 

Bedawin Warriors 235 

Bedawin of Moab 236 

Gipsies 240 

Arab Woman Carrying Child .. .. 241 

Selling Vegetables 243 

Rachel's Tomb 246 

Interior of the Tent . 247 

Preparing Breakfast ...... 2^2 

Gaza 25; 

Mosque of Gaza 256 

The Veil as Worn at Gaza 2^7 

Ruins of Ashkelon 25S 

Examining Ruins of Ashkelon . . . 2^q 



Xll 



List of Illustrations — Continued 









PAGE 


ASHDOD 


260 


Entrance to Tombs of Kings . 




394 


Yebna (Jamnia) 


261 


Plan of Tombs of Kings .... 




395 


Drawing Water 


262 


Hakeldama . 




400 


Gf.zer 263-264- 


265-266 


Kidron Valley . . . . ' . . . 




401 


Skulls from Gezer 


269 


Dervish Beggars 




405 


Burial Cave of Gezer 


. 272 


The Temple Area 




408 


Female Skeleton from Gezer . 


2 73 


Mosque of Omar 


411- 


-412 


Pillar Stones from Gezer . 


• 275 


Mosque of Omar 




420 


Jar from Gezer 


276 


Solomon's Stables 




421 


Skeleton from Gezer 


278 


El Aksa 




423 


Facade of Holy Sepulchre . . . . 


. 294 


Mizpah 




425 


Stone of Unction 


• 295 


Nebi-Samouil 




426 


Calvary 


. 296 


Caphr-Keffre . 




427 


Holy Sepulchre 297- 


298-299 


Siloah 




428 




■ 3° 2 


Convent at Sealed Fountain . 




43° 


Bethany 


■ 3°4 


Pools of Solomon 




432 


Feeding the Poor 


■ 3°5 


Hebron 




433 


Bethphage 


306 


Mosque at Hebron 




434 


Desert of Jud^a . 


• 3 11 


Tombs of the Patriarchs at Hebron 




43 5 


Mar Saba 


■ 3 12 


Abraham's Oak 




43 6 


Tomb of St. Sabas . 


• 3 1 3 


Halt for Dinner 




43 7 


Mar Saba 


■ 3 r 4 


A Bedawy ... 




438 


Ain Karim 


• 3i6 


On the Way to Dead Sea .... 




439 


Ratisbonne's Grave 


• 3*9 


Rock Formation near Dead Sea . 




439 


Muslim Woman 


• 320 






440 


Tomb of the Judges 


333 


Dead Sea 


441- 


"443 


"Kokim" 


• 334 


Umm Bagheg 




444 




■ 337 


Coast of Dead Sea 




445 


Church of Tomb of Virgin Mary . 


■ 340 


Masada 




446 


Tomb of the Virgin Mary 


• 34i 


Fortress of Masada 




447 


Church of St. Anne 


- 342 


Great Cistern 




448 


Valley of Jehoshaphat 


• 343 


Engedi 




449 


Bethlehem 


• 348 


Bathers in Dead Sea 




45° 


Church of the "Our Father" . 


• 35o 


Roman Ruins at Engedi .... 




45 1 


Portico of the "Our Father" . 


• 35i 


Mountain of Engedi . . . . 




452 


Mosque of the Ascension . 


• 353 






453 


The Tower Antonia 


• 354 


Market Place of Bethlehem . 




45 6 


"EcceHomo" 


■ 355 


Family of Bethlehem 




457 


Shepherds' Field 


• 357 


Women of Bethlehem 




458 


Field of Boaz 


■ 3 58 


Bethlehem 


460 


-461 


Tews' Wailing Place . 


360 


Christmas at Bethlehem .... 




462 


Jewish Rabbi 


■ 3 61 


Grotto of the Nativity .... 




463 


Talmudists 


. 362 


The "Crib" at Bethlehem 




464 


Tomb of Lazarus .... 


• 3 6 7 


The Ccenaculum 




467 


Convent of Holy Cross 


• 368 


The Milk-Grotto 




470 


Robinson's Arch .... 


■ 3 7° 


Tower of David 




477 


Place of the Ascension . 


375 


Muslim Sheikh 




479 


The Tabernacle in the Desert . . 


• 376 


Pool of Siloah 




482 


Solomon's Temple .... 


■ 377 


The Waters of Siloah ..... 




483 


Herod's Temple 


• 378 


Water-Carriers 




485 


Tustinian's Church 


• 379 


Tombs in Kidron Valley .... 




486 


Mosque of Omar . 


380 


Washing of Feet 




502 


First Station of the Cross . 


• 387 


The "Holy Fire" 




506 


Tombs of the Kings 


■ 392 


Wady el-Kelt 




508 


Great Court of Tombs of the Kings , 


• • 393 


Khan on Road to Jericho .... 




5°9 


Basin at Tombs of the Kings . 


• • 394 


Greek Convent in Wady el-Kelt . 




5i° 



List of Illustrations — Continued 



xm 



PAGE PAGE 







511 


Grand Colonnade of Mosque at Da- 




r \ ,■»-,-« T a n r\ < x - t /-« 1 \' O T7 C 




^ 1 2 


mascus 


563 


Shepherds Fording the Jordan' 




3 1 ~ 


Valley of the Barrada 








513 


Muslim Cemetery at Damascus 


565 






SI4 

j ~ 


The Barrada 


566 






:k 
D 


'Ain Fidjeh 


567 






J 


Baalbek 


568 






K I 7 


Jupiter's Temple — Baalbek . . . 569- 


'57° 


"AT A T» A D A 






Frieze of Jupiter's Temple 


57 1 


' | 'v nr-p m7 1 C D I r u n 




s I Q 


Roman Statue from Baalbek .... 


572 


"D t ' c c t * \t M IT f* T> T Tiff Q 




> 20 

j 


Cyclopean Wall of Baalbek .... 


5 73 


"P T OITUMA W 




;2l 

j 


Detail of Frieze of Baalbek .... 


574 


Titc Tnp n i \t 




C22 
J 


Columns of Temple of Sun 


575 


Amman S 2 3 5 2 5" 


-5 26 -5 2 7- 


-C28 
j 


Pagan Altar of Baalbek 


576 


Fallen Column at Amman . . 




con 




577 






529 


Detail of Ceiling — Baalbek .... 


578 






53° 


Detail of Door of J upiter s 1 emple . 


579 






53° 


Interior of Jupiter's Temple — Baal- 








"53 1 






Ornamented Base of Column at 


Jerash 


53 1 


Detail of Frieze from Baalbek 






53i 


T T-i p C\ dpat Rthutj at Raathptc 


3 




■533 


T A V T V P \1f KI'DfMFVTQ 

J. A IV 1 A Li jICAoL Kt.Mll.N 13 . . . . . 


£ 8 2 

3°3 




532- 


A. T t T-T vr \ t n v 


3 


Theatre of Jerash 


534' 


"535 


Subeibeh 
Tabor 


^8; 


Colonnade of Jerash .... 




536 


586 






537 " 


Sol'rce of Jordan 


^87 


A Niche at Jerash 




538 


Tri T FT -TC A F)Y 


588 


Propyl^ea at Jerash .... 




539 


Bridge of Hasbani 


3 w y 


Baths at Jerash 




540 


A.B I l 


t8o 

3 7 


Propyl^um 




541 


Cedars of Lebanon 


;no 

j v 


S acred Tree at Derat . 




542 


C APHARNAUM 


592 


Bedawin Eating Rice 




54 2 


Fishing on Lake of Tiberias .... 


593 


W ater-C arri ers 






Mending Nets by Sea of Galilee 




Shepherd with Sheep 




3 


M AGD AL A 


595 


D er at 




0-r J 


Tib eri as 


^96 


R 1? T PtC F AT T~) FT? i T 




545 


Mount of Beatitudes 


3 v / 


pi a c a t t ^iprnPHir.Tix 




54 u 


Cana of Galilee 


1 98 


RlCAIT Pi DTT i T 

J_J »*\ J S\ L. 1 V_/ A r 1 1 A L . . . 




c 1 n 
34° 


Seffurieh 


^99 


P a r, a v Attar a t R n 7 t? a 




547 


Oxen Treading out the Corn .... 


600 


(t ATP C\ P R A7D A 




547 


Thrfshing the Grain 


60 1 


1 D TT' AIDTJ A I A Dru AT A7D A 




34° 


]Va7A,RFTH 


602 


\k t t v q r~i p l jTUPno a i r~»Tr R Ayo a 




34° 


The Virgin's Fount at Nazareth . 


60 ? 


FxFRVniR AT R (1 7 "P A 




549 


Nazareth — Church of Presentation 


604 


1 [TATIFI OP Rn7P A 




549 


The Precipice at Nazareth 


60 S 


\^ T4 V 1 IT F A T D TT AT R ii7D A 




55° 


N aim 


606 


HflT ITATVx AT R ft 7 T? A 




55° 


Ptfrmu' Tni o\y a.t Haifa 


607 


Ezr'a 




553 


\I OL'N'T C A R M E I 


608 


C PM "R f" T-T OP S^T Ct- F O T? P P AT T^7T?'a 




553 


Scenes by the v\ a y 


609 


ATo^nT'F at R.7"p'a 




554 


fTROTTO of Ft tah 


610 


Cross at Sunamein 




5 55 


Tell el-Mutesselim 


61 1 


St. Paul's Wall at Damascus 




556 




612 


Court of House at Damascus . 




558 




612 


The Straight Way at Damascus 




559 




6l3 


Bazaar of Damascus .... 




560 




614 


Interior of House at Damascus 




561 




615 


Court of Great Mosque at Damascus . 


562 


Sebaste — Samaria 


616 



XIV 



List of Illustrations — Continued 



PAGE 

Grand Colonnade 617 

Valley of Nabulus 6rS 

Nabulus 619 

Valley of Nabulus 620 

Samaritan Priest 621 

Samaritan Encampment 622 

Ruins of Church on Gerizim .... 623 



PAGE 

Rocks on which Samaritans Pray . . . 624 

Jacob's Well . 625 

Shiloh 626 

Shiloh — Sacred Tree .... . 627 

Bethel . . . ' 628 

Ruins at Bethei 629 



PREFACE 



Throughout Christendom, scarcely a week passes in which Christians do not oc- 
cupy their thoughts with something connected with the Holy Land. The Historv of 
Israel has a world wide interest. They were the chosen people of God, and their land 
came into closer relation to God than any other part of the world. Here God made 
known his glory ; here he spake by the Prophets ; here he worked great signs and 
wonders ; here he nursed a seed of humanity through the long ages of waiting until 
Christ came. This alone should give Palestine a preeminence in religious interest 
over all other lands, and should move every man to endeavor to learn something of 
the history of Palestine, of its topography, and of its customs and conditions of life. 
This interest is heightened by the fact that here Christ " was made flesh and dwelt 
among us." 

Though Christ delivered a universal message, absolutely free from all provincial- 
ism, yet there is a certain local coloring in Christ's teaching from the fact that he 
took his illustrations from the life of the people of his land. We know that the 
dwellers of the far distant -'Isles of the Gentiles" have understood Christ's message, 
and have found life through it. without ever having seen Palestine, but it also 
remains true that the full realization of the truth and the beautv of the " Message 
of Salvation" is greatly aided by a knowledge of Palestine and its inhabitants. 
Both Testaments reveal a deeper meaning to the one who knows their historical 
setting. 

This knowledge is best obtained by a studious sojourn in the land itself, and 
journeys through all its extent. I do not speak of the pleasure-seeking journey of 
the tourist, who superficially gratifies his curiosity. The effect of such a visit is 
hurtful to religion. I speak of the work of the pilgrim and of the student who 
cheerfully undergoes fatigue and danger to study the land and its customs. 

But there are many who are hindered from such a journey to the East. Thev 
must depend upon what others have written. 

The author of the present volume first visited the East in 1890. The years 
that followed were devoted to the study of the. Holy Scriptures. In 1904, the 
author again visited Palestine, and entered into residence at the Biblical School at 
Jerusalem until June. 1905. This volume contains the fruits of the study and the 
personal observations of that year. 

St. Ignatius of Loyola declares: "that the best help to meditation on the life of 
Our Redeemer is an exact and careful knowledge of the scenes of his life amonsr men.'' 
To spread this knowledge the author devotes his book. 

A. E. BREEX 



Rochester. X . Y. 

Feast of the Presentation of the Blessed Virgin Mary. 1906 



THE DIARY 

On Saturday, October 15, 1904, our ship the Elektra anchored in the sea before 
Jaffa. A scrambling, yelling horde of Arabs came out in boats to bring the passengers 
ashore. 

There are no wharves on the Syrian coast; and the Turkish government is not willing 
that there should be any; first, because it would render easier the landing of a hostile 
force in case of war; and, secondly, it would take away the occupation of the boatmen. 




LEAVING THE STEAMSHIPS AT JAFFA 

The traveler is soon made to feel that he is come to a land where law and order 
are in a very primitive state. * Were it not for the protection afforded their citizens by 
their respective consuls, conditions would become intolerable. 



•> 



Landing at Jaffa 



The sea at Jaffa is often very rough. The winds of the Mediterranean seem to 
focus on this point. A reef of rocks stretches along in the sea, some distance from the 
shore; and the landing in a storm is a perilous undertaking. In the winter, the steamers 
often are obliged to abandon the attempt. They then continue the voyage up to 
Beyrouth, and stop again at Jaffa on the way back. 

There is no fixed price for the services of the boatmen. From one to two francs 
will suffice; but the Arabs will always demand much more. The proper way to deal 
with them is to affect indifference in regard to landing. They are practised in their 
profession; and they readily distinguish the cool prudent traveler from the nervous, 
timid one: the latter is their prey. They often shriek and struggle for no other purpose 
than to frighten the travelers, hoping thereby to receive more. 





WBBBEBBBH/SBBttS&GMBHBUB 





























THROUGH THE ROCKS AT JAFFA 



We landed without difficulty; and were kindly and hospitably received by the 
Franciscans, who have a hospice close to the shore for the accomodation of pilgrims. 

Jaffa,, the ancient Joppe, stands on a low hill jutting out into the Mediterranean. 
Behind it the great plain of Sharon stretches back to the long north and south ridge of 
the hills of Judaea and Samaria. 

The present town of Jaffa is not interesting; the streets are narrow and dirty, the 
natives are ignorant, dirty, and devoid of character. The population of the city is 
estimated at 24,000, of whom 12,000 are Muhammadans, 8,000 Christians, and 4,000 
Jews. The orange groves of Jaffa are very fruitful, but the fruit is far inferior to the 
oranges of California and Florida. The natives relish the fruit while yet green. 



Jaffa 



3 



Jaffa is one of the oldest cities of the world. Pliny declares that it was built by 
Japes, the daughter of Aeolus, and wife of Cepheus. Other authors attribute its founda- 
tion to Japhet. the son of Xoah. According to Strabo Andromeda was here bound to 
the rocks, and left to be devoured by a sea monster: she- was delivered by Perseus. St. 
Jerome declares that men showed him at Jaffa Andromeda 's chains. It was also believed 
that Jonah Lhe Prophet fleeing from God's command embarked at Jaffa. 

Setting aside that which is fabulous, it is certain that Jaffa is very old. On the 
pvlon of Karnak it is mentioned in the inscription of Thotmes III. as one of the cities 
conquered by him. Among the Tell el-Amarna tablets there is a letter written to the 
pharaoh of Egypt by the governor of Jaffa. 




JAFFA 

To the Christian traveler the city possesses only one place of interest, the traditional 
site of the house of Simon the tanner, where St. Peter had the vision mentioned in Acts, 
X. 9-16. At Jaffa Peter also raised to life Tabitha; but the true site of the event cannot 
be known. 

The house of Simon the tanner is a small dingy modern house, one room of which has 
been converted into a mosque. Its authenticity is uncertain. 

There is a good carriage road from Jaffa to Jerusalem, distance 41 miles. The 
distance by rail is 54 miles owing to the difficulties of the route. 

We left Jaffa by train at 1 p. m. and arrived at the station outside the walls of 
Jerusalem at about 5 p. m. 



4 



From Jaffa to Jerusalem 



The route crosses the Plain of Sharon passing close to Ludd or Lydda, and 
through Ramleh, often following the road over which the Ark of the Covenant was 
brought from Ekron to Jerusalem. 

After leaving the plain the line winds and zigzags up the mountains of Judaea over 
land every foot of which has a historical interest. 

As our train was standing at the station, I observed that the locomotive was built 
by the Baldwin Co. of Pennsylvania. This insignificant fact seemed to divest the land 
of some of its strangeness. 




BAZAAR OF JAFFA 

The supply of drinking water of the train was a large black goat skin lying in the 
aisle. Water was drawn from it by loosing the leathern thong which bound the neck. 

The passengers were of many nations, barefooted Arabs, pious Christian pilgrims, 
adventurers, and despised Jews. In Syria no common bond binds men together It 
is a land of human degradation and contempt. There is no patriotism, no national 
feeling: both the Muhammadan religion and the Turkish rule tend to degrade men. The 
subjects of the Sultan know that the only interest their rulers have in them is to exact 
taxes from them. Misrule, ignorance, and poverty have debased nature in them. 

The railroad station at Jerusalem is outside the gates, at the foot of a hill, about 
one half mile from the city. As we passed up the winding road that leads up to the 
Jaffa gate we reflected on the curious history of this the holiest and the unholiest of 



Jerusalem 



cities. How it typifies a human soul, which God wills to love; hut which by sin ma v 
become the object of God's eternal hate. Xo man who closely observes the miserv 
of this citv will deny that God's curse still hangs over it. 

Jerusalem is a mountain city. It was pre-eminently so to the Jew; for, with the 
exception of Samaria and Hebron, the other great cities within his ken, those of Egvpt 
and Mesopotamia. Damascus, Tyre, Gaza, Jezreel, Jericho, were emphatically cities of 
the plain. The Temple pavement stood some 2.400 feet above the Mediterranean, 
distant 25 miles as the crow flies; some 3.700 feet above the Dead Sea. distant 12 miles. 
The Bible, indeed, teems with allusions to this local peculiarity of its site as a mountain 
city. The plateau on which the city stands is of tertiary limestone; the strata are 
usuallv nearly horizontal, and the landscape shows generally a succession of plateaux 
and flat topped hills, broken here and there by deep narrow gullies, and generallv a 
marked resemblance can be traced to the characteristic scenery of parts of the lime- 
stone districts of England. 




MARKET PLACE AT JAFFA 

At the point where the city stands, a tongue of land is enclosed between two of these 
ravines, and on this the modern, like the ancient city, is built. The easternmost of 
these ravines, the valley of Jehoshaphat or the Kidron, has a course nearlv north and 
south; the westernmost, the valley of Hinnom, after running a short distance to the 



6 



Jerusalem 



southward, makes a bold sweep to the east, and forming the southern limit to the tongue 
of land above mentioned, joins the valley of the Kidron, not far from the Beer Eyub, 
or Well of Job. Both ravines commence as a mere depression of the ground, but their 
floor sinks rapidly, and their sides, encumbered as they are now with the accumulated 
debris of centuries, and the ruins of buildings thrown down by successive invaders or 
domestic factions, are still steep and difficult of access. In ancient times the bare rock 




THE ROAD LEADING FROM THE RAILROAD STATION TO JERUSALEM. ON THE RIGHT MT. ZION 

must have shown itself in many places; and in more than one place the researches of Mr. 
Warren have shown that the natural difficulties of the ground were artificially increased 
in ancient times by the scarping of the rock surface. Hence, we find Jerusalem to have 
been at all times, before the invention of gunpowder, looked upon as a fortress of great 
strength; on three sides, the east, the south, and the west, the encircling ravines formed 
an impregnable obstacle to an assailant; the attack could only be directed against the 
northern face of the city, where, as we are informed by Josephus, the absence of natural 
defences was at the time of the famous siege by Titus supplied by three distinct lines of 
wall. To determine the actual course of these walls is, notwithstanding the detailed 
description of them in Josephus, one of the most difficult problems before us. 

Besides these two principal ravines a third ravine of less importance splits the 
tongue of land into two unequal portions. This is the Tyropceon valley, the valley of 
the cheesemakers, or as some would have it, of the Tyrian merchants. A marked de- 
pression of the ground runs from north to south through the midst of the modern city 




MAP OF JERUSALEM MADE BY THE PALESTINE EXPLORATION FUND. 



8 



Jerusalem 



from the Damascus gate to a point in the Kidron valley somewhat north of its junction 
with the valley of Hinnom, forming in its course the boundary between the Muhammadan 
and the Christian and Jewish quarters of the modern city. At one part of its course it 
forms the western boundary of the Haram es-Sherif. This depression has generally 
been identified in its whole course with the Tyropceon valley of Josephus, though Dr. 
Robinson and others would place this latter along the line of a depression of the ground 




JAFFA STREET OUTSIDE THE JAFFA GATE OF JERUSALEM. THE TOWER OF 

DAVID ON THE RIGHT 

running between the western or Jaffa gate and the Haram es-Sherif. All, however, 
are agreed in identifying the lower portion which runs under the west wall of the Haram, 
and thence to the Kidron, with the Tyropceon; and Mr. .Warren's researches have shown 
that in ancient times this valley was much deeper than at present, and that its ancient 
course was to the eastward of its present course. It is filled up with debris 30 feet, 50 
feet and even 85 feet, in depth. 



Jerusalem 



9 



The city being thus split in the midst into two ridges by this valley, it may be 
observed, by a reference to the Ordnance Map of Jerusalem, that the western ridge is the 
most elevated and most important. Most authorities are agreed in placing on some 
portion of this ridge the original city of Jebus, captured by King David, and the Up- 
per City of Josephus. All again are agreed in fixing Ophel on the end of the tongue of 
land on which stands the Haram es-Sherif , and in making the site of the Temples of 
Solomon, Zerubbabel, and Herod, and of the castle Antonia, either coincide with or 
occupy some portion of the Haram itself. 




PANORAMA OF JERUSALEM 



But here all agreements may be said to stop. There are differences of opinion 
whether we should fix the Mount Zion of the Bible and the Mount Zion of the writers of 
Christian times on the same or on opposite hills; whether the name is to be identified 
with the eastern or the western ridge. The exact position of the Temple is matter of 
controversy; the site of the Acra of Josephus, and the Acra of the Book of Maccabees, 
of Bezetha, the fourth quarter and last added suburb of the city; the position of the 
Towers Hippicus, Phasaelus, and Mariamme, and of the Tower Psephinus, which if 
determined would go far to settle the disputed question of the course of the second and 
third walls of Josephus; the exact extent of the city in the time of the Saviour; are mat- 
ters of keen dispute, which can only be settled by patient and systematic burrowing into 



II) 



Early History of Jerusalem 



the debris produced by many successive demolitions of the city at those points where the 
absence of inhabited houses renders it possible to excavate at all. And upon the decision 
eventually arrived at on these points depends the settlement of what is the most difficult, 
as it must be by far the most interesting, problem to us all — viz., whether the present 
Church of the Holy Sepulchre does or does not cover the true sepulchre of our Saviour; 
if not, whether the true site can yet be recovered; and if so, in what quarter we should 
look for it. 

The earlier name of Jerusalem was Jebus, its inhabitants being called Jebusites 
(Chron. xi. 4). At the same time we read that the "king of Jerusalem" was one of the 
native princes who resisted the advance of the Israelites into the land under Joshua 
(Josh. xii. 10). David captured the "Castle of Zion" in B. C. 1048, Joab being the first 
to enter the city, which was destined from that time forward to occupy a foremost place 
in the history of the world (1. Chron. xi. 4, 8). David erected his palace on the ruins of 
the Jebusite castle, and Zion was henceforth called the "City of David." The founda- 
tions of the Temple were laid thirty-seven years afterwards on the site of Oman's 
threshing-floor on Mount Moriah, and Jerusalem thus became the sacred as well as the 
civil capital of the Jewish nation. Zion may, therefore, be said to represent the tem- 
poral, and Moriah the spiritual supremacy of the chosen people of God. 

Jerusalem attained its greatest power during the reign of Solomon, a great measure 
of its importance being lost when the kingdom was divided by the revolt of Jeroboam; 
Shechem, Tirzah, and Samaria, in succession, rivalling its claims as the metropolis of 
Israel. It passed through many changes of fortunes until, in B. C. 588, it was plundered 
and destroyed by Nebuchadnezzar, king of Babylon. During the captivity of the Jews, 
Jerusalem remained a desolate heap of ruins, until Cyrus allowed the people to return, 
under Ezra and Nehemiah. Then the city and Temple were rebuilt, amidst every 
demonstration of rejoicing and delight. From this time till the Grecian power became 
paramount in Western Asia, Syria and Palestine were governed by a Persian satrap in 
Damascus; but the Jewish high priest was made deputy at Jerusalem, and the city, in 
consequence, enjoyed a large amount of liberty. 

In B. C. 333 .after the battle of Issus, Palestine fell under the dominion of Alex- 
ander the Great. That illustrious monarch appeared before Jerusalem, on the heights 
to the N. W., where the Russian buildings now stand. A solemn procession met him, 
headed by the high priest, arrayed in his pontifical robes. As soon as Alexander saw 
him, he advanced towards him, and, reverently saluting the Sacred Name inscribed 
on his mitre, he exclaimed, "I adore not the man, but the God with whose priesthood 
he is honoured. When I was at Dios, in Macedonia, pondering how to subdue Asia, I 
saw this figure in a dream, and he encouraged me to advance, promising to give me 
the Persian Empire. I look upon this as an omen, therefore, that I have undertaken 
the expedition by divine command, and that I shall overthrow the Persian Empire." 
He then granted the inhabitants of Jerusalem many important immunities and 
privileges. 

After the death of Alexander, Jerusalem fell into the power of the Ptolemies of 
Egypt, under whose mild rule it remained for 250 years. In B.C. 170 Antiochus 
Epiphanes plundered Jerusalem, and defiled the Temple. Two years afterwards he 
sent his general, Appollonius, to complete the work of destruction. On the Sabbath 
day the soldiers were let loose, the general knowing that the Jews would not fight on 
that day. All the able bodied men were slaughtered, the women and children being 
sold into slavery. Apollonius placed a garrison on Mount Zion, and neither priest 



Early History of Jerusalem 



1 I 



nor lavman was permitted to approach the sacred precincts of the Temple. The 
sacrifice and oblation ceased, and Jerusalem was desolate. The Temple was dedicated 
to Jupiter Olympus, and the altar polluted by idolatrous sacrifices. Then rose the 
priestlv family of the Asmoneansto reYenge the injuries to their country, and to vin- 
dicate the honour of their God; and for twenty six years Judas Maccabaeus and his 
brothers carried on a contest with the Syrian monarch, until they succeeded in estab- 
lishing the independence of their country and the supreme authority of their house. 
The year B. C. 143, when this was accomplished, became a new era for the Jewish 
nation, and it was used by Josephus. and in the first book of the Maccabees. 




ARAB CAFE AT THE JAFFA GATE OF JERUSALEM. CLOSE BY THE TOWER OF DAVID 



In B. C. 34 the last prince of the Asmonean line was murdered by the Roman 
prefect of Syria, and Herod the Great was made king of the Jews. Herod was an Idu- 
maean by birth — ambitious, unscrupulous, and cruel; and he ruled the Jews with an 
iron sceptre, while he shocked their religious feelings by the introduction of idolatrous 
rites. At the same time he did much to promote the material prosperitv of the coun- 
try, and he built and beautified many cities, his greatest architectural work being the 
restoration of the Temple at Jerusalem. This was commenced in the eighteenth year 
of his reign; and though the principal parts were completed in about nine Years, the 
whole was not finished until after the lapse of forty-six years. The beauty and mag- 
nificence of this Temple were famous (St. Matt. xxiv. 1, 2). 



12 



Early History of Jerusalem 



In A.D. 70 the Romans stormed the city, massacred more than a million of Jews, 
and razed the Temple to the ground. The three great towers, Hippicus, Phasaelus, 
and Mariamne, were, by the order of Titus, left standing to protect the garrison and to 
show the strength of the fortress which the Romans had won. Several Jewish families 
clung to the ruins, but in 130 they were banished by the Emperor Adrian, who rebuilt 
the city and named it JElia Capitolina, the former after his own pramomen, and the 
latter in honor of Jupiter Capitolinus, to whom a fane was erected on the site of the 
Jewish Temple. Previous to this, Jerusalem had been wrested for a few short months 
out of the Roman hands by Barcochebas, the "son of a star," who was, however, finally 
defeated at Bether in 135. 




VILLAGE MUSLIM WOMAN 

From the time of Adrian till that of Constantine little is known of the history of 
Jerusalem. When the Christian religion was established by Constantine, a stimulus 
was given to pilgrimages to the Holy Land, especially by the Emperor's mother, Helena, 
who, at the age of eighty, visited the so called "Holy Places," and caused churches 



Early History of Jerusalem 



] 3 



to be erected at Bethlehem, on OliYet, and elsewhere. To this pilgrimage of Helena 
is to be traced ,the source of many traditional sites, and, it is to be feared, of many 
egregious fallacies and mistakes. In that age of ignorance and superstition, pilgrims 
demanded fixed localities for almost eYery sacred scene. Under Constantine the Jews 
were allowed to Yisit Jerusalem, and in the reign of Julian the Apostate they eYen 
commenced the rebuilding of the Temple. But, according to contemporary authors 
they were stopped bY unearthly and ominous portents in 362: and, upon the death of 
Julian, theY were forbidden to enter the city, except once a year to weep OYer the 
ruins of the Temple. This was the origin of the "'Place of Trailing."' 




COPTIC PRIESTS 



Jerusalem was raised to the dignity of a patriarchate by a degree of the Council 
of Chalcedon. Justinian, whose reign commenced in 529, built a church in honour of 
the Virgin in the southern part of the Haram. In the beginning of the seYenth 
century, Khosru (Khosroes) II. took Jerusalem by storm, massacred thousands of the 
inhabitants, including clergy, monks, and nuns, destroyed the Church of the Holy 
Sepulchre, and carried off the Patriarch into captiYity. Before many years had passed 
the church had been rebuilt, and the Patriarch had returned to Jerusalem in triumph. 
In 636 the Muslims, under the Khalif Omar, captured the city, the inhabitants sur- 
rendering on condition that their liYes, their property, and their churches were secured 
to them. Omar gaYe orders for the erection of a mosque aboYe the famous ' Reck" 



14 



Jerusalem 



on Mount Moriah, which was said to be the site of the Jewish Temple, and in 686 the 
Khalif Abd el Melek erected the present Ivubbet es Sakhrah, or "Dome of the Rock." 
Justinian's Church of the Virgin was, at the same time, converted into a mosque, and 
called el Aksa. 

Jerusalem remained in the power of the Khalifs of Damascus and Baghdad, who 
respected the rights of the Christians, and did not interfere with pilgrimages. About 
967 the Fatimite monarchs of Cairo gained Jerusalem, oppressed the Christians, burned 
the Church of the Holy Sepulchre, and committed the Patriarch to the flames. Hakim, 
the third Fatimite khalif, an insanely vicious prince, who is notorious in connection 
with the history of the Druses, persecuted the Christians, and attempted to destroy 
the reputed Sepulchre of Christ itself. The church was demolished, but was rebuilt 
and completed in 1048. About this period the Seljuks extended their conquests over 
Western Asia, and in 1083 Ortok obtained possession of Jerusalem, and inflicted all 
kinds of barbarous outrages upon the Christian residents and pilgrims. This gave 
rise to the First Crusade, organised by Peter the Hermit, who, having visited the city 
and witnessed the barbarities, aroused the indignation and chivalry of Europe by his 
eloquent zeal. Jerusalem was taken by the Crusaders in 1099, and the shrines and 
churches were purified from Muslim defilement. The city remained in the hands of the 
Christians for eighty-eight years , until it was captured by Salah ed-Din in 1 1 8 7 . The walls 
of the city were pulled down, with the exception of those of the Haram and citadel, 
lest the Franks should again take possession of Jerusalem. In 1229 the city was deliv- 
ered by treaty to the Crusaders, who endeavored to rebuild the walls; but they were 
attacked and driven out by the Emir of Kerak. In 1243 the Christians again obtained 
possession, but after a few months they were finally expelled, and the Holy City has 
ever since remained under Muslim sway. 

The population of Jerusalem is hard to ascertain . The imperfect state of all the 
governmental departments and the curious character of the people render it impossible 
to determine the precise number. 

The following were the approximate numbers living in Jerusalem in 1903. During 
the pilgrimage season the population is considerably increased. 



1 . Christian. 

Greek Orthodox 6,500 

Latin Catholic 4,500 

Greek Catholic 200 

Armenian 850 

Syriac 100 

Copt. . 100 

Abyssinian 100 

Protestant 1 <5°° 

i3- 8 5° 

2. Jewish 42,000 

3. Muslim 7. 7 00 

Total 63,550 



As regards Jews and Muslims these figures are too low by one third. 
The following report on the rainfall at Jerusalem embodies the results of a series of 
observations made during twenty two years, namely, from 1860-1 to 1881-2. 



Climate of Jerusalem 



15 



The instruments employed for measuring the rain have been of two kinds: (i) the 
old fashioned float gauge of Xewman, and (2) Glaisher's gauge, as supplied by Negretti 
& Zambra. The chief disadvantage of the former instrument is that, in consequence 
of the float displacing by its weight a portion of the water in the cylinder, the reading 
is usually too low, or no indication at all may be given, when the quantity of rain has 
been very small. As a collector it has often proved more efficient than the other kind, 
when heavy rain and hail have fallen accompanied with much wind. The observa- 
tions have been made with constant regularity at 9 o'clock a. m.. except for a short 
period during the month of March, 1863. and the number of days' during which rain 
fell in that month is not known. 




CAMEL DRIVERS 

During the first six seasons Newman's gauge was employed; during the remaining 
seasons Glaisher's. During four seasons the two gauges were placed side by side, and 
the readings of each carefully noted. The float gauge showed 88-829 inches during 
this period, and Glaisher's gauge showed 93-250 inches, and these comparative measure- 
ments have been made use of for correcting the readings of the first six seasons, during 
which the float gauge alone was employed. 

The position of the instruments was in a garden within the city, about 2,500 feet 
above the level of the Mediterranean, open on all sides, the houses which bound it on the 
south and west being too far removed to influence the fall of rain into the pluviometers. 



16 



Climate of Jerusalem 



Palestine being one of those countries in which a long period of dry weather is 
regularly followed by one of rainy weather, it will be more practically useful to arrange 
this report according to seasons than according to years, notwithstanding that each 
season includes the later months of one year and the early months of the next. 

1. The mean duration of each rainy season has been 188 days — the longest 
being 221 days, the shortest 126 days. The mean duration of each dry season has been 
177 days, the longest being 211 days, the shortest 134 days. 

2. In ten seasons the rains began between the 4th and 28th of October (inclu- 
sive); in twelve seasons between the 1st and 28th of November (inclusive). 

In four years there has been a slight fall of rain in the month of September, and it is 
remarkable that on each of these occasions the rainfall of the ensuing season was con- 
siderably below the average. 

3. In eight years the last rain of the seasons fell between the 2nd and 29th of 
April (inclusive), and in fourteen years between the 1st and 27th of May (inclusive). 
A very little rain has sometimes fallen in June. 

4. The mean number of days on which rain has fallen in each season has been 
52 — the highest being 71, the lowest 37. 

5. The mean quantity of rain measured in each season has been 22-760 inches 
— the greatest quantity being 42.932 inches, the smallest 12-269 inches. 

6. The mean quantity which has fallen in the several months included in the 
rainy season, and the mean number of rainy days in each month, are as follows: — 

No. of Inches of 

Months. rainy days rain. 

October 1-50 -514 

November 5-31 1-664 

December 9-04 4718 

January 10*28 S'479 

February. .10-43 5' 2 °7 

March 8-51 y 531 

April 5-45 1-448 

May. . . . ' i'59 "*99 

5211 22760 

7. During the rainy seasons rain falls on one or more days, and is followed by 
one or more days of firfe weather, and these fine days of the winter and early spring 
months are some of the most enjoyable that the climate of Palestine affords. The 
mean number of rainy periods in each season has been 23 — the highest being 30, the 
lowest 16. These rainy periods seldom cover more than seven or eight days, and in 
some entire seasons it has not rained more than five or six consecutive days. 
Once it rained and snowed for fourteen days (in January, 1861), and once for thirteen 
days (in February, 1882). 

8. The rainy season divides itself into three periods. First, that of the early 
rain, called by the peasants el wasm el bedry, "the early sign," which moistens the 
land and fits it for the reception of the seed, and is consequently the signal 
for the commencement of ploughing. Second, the copious winter rain, which 
saturates the earth, fills the cisterns and pools, and replenishes the 
springs. Third, the latter or spring rain, which causes the ears of corn to 
enlarge, enables the wheat and barley to support the dry heat of the early 



Climate of Jerusalem 



17 



summer, and without which the harvest fails. Between the commencement of the 
earh - rain and the setting in of the heavy winter rain a considerable period elapses, 
and again between the termination of the winter rain and the close of the rainy season 
bv the fall of the last of the spring rains ; but these periods are usually broken by the 
occurrence of rain days, so that it is often not easy to decide to which period a particular 
fall of rain should be assigned. Thus in the year 1881 the first rains of autumn fell on 
November 5th, and were separated by a period of thirty-six days from the heavy winter 
rains which began on December iSth,but this period was broken by the occurrence of 
three non-consecutive days on which rain fell; and at the end of the same season the 
heavy rains terminated on the 15th of April, and the period of thirty-six days which 
elapsed before the last spring rain fell was broken by the occurrence of four rainy days. 
The times of the commencement and termination of the heavy winter rains are as un- 
certain as those of the autumn and spring rains. As a rule, it ma} 7 be considered that 
the autumn or early rains extend from the commencement of the rain} - season in Octo- 
ber or November until the middle of December, the winter rains from the middle of 
December until the middle or end of March, and the latter or spring rains from the mid- 
dle of March until the termination of the rainy season in April or May. 

9. Although rain may fall when the wind is blowing from any point of the com- 
pass, the copious rains are almost invariably brought from a western quarter. Of 
the 506 falls of rain included in this report, eight were from the north, 14 from the 
north-east, 12 from the east, 10 from the south-east, 19 from the south, 238 from the 
south-west, 156 from the west, and 49 from the north-west. On 149 occasions an 
easterly wind immediately preceded the change which ushered the rain in. The direc- 
tion of the wind frequently alters during the fall; if it passes to the north, the rain 
ceases; a change from any quarter towards the south-west usually indicates a con- 
tinuance of rain. 

10. On 248 occasions the fall of rain commenced after a gradual fall of the mer- 
cury in the barometer during two or more days; on 144 occasions after a fall during 
one day, and on 114 after a slight rise. Not unfrequently, after a gradual diminution 
of the atmospheric pressure, rain begins to fall as the glass begins to rise. During the 
fall of rain, the mercury rose on 281 occasions, fell on 69, first fell and then rose on 132. 
and on 24 occasions remained steady until after the rain had ceased. It is during the 
severe and stormy rainy periods of the winter season that the glass commonly falls, 
and afterwards rises. 

11. It is popularly supposed that the atmosphere becomes warmer as the rain 
falls. This, however, is not usually the case. The sensation of increased warmth is 
caused by diminution in the amount of evaporation from the surface of the body when 
the air becomes saturated with moisture. On 369 occasions the temperature of the 
air became lower as the rain fell, on 90 it rose slightly, and on 47 remained sta- 
tionary, or nearly so, until the rain ceased. 

12. In fourteen seasons snow has fallen, and eight seasons have passed without 
snow. The last few days of December, the months of January and February, and the 
earlier part of March, are the periods for snow; but in 1870 there was a heavy fall (rS 
inch) on the 7th and 8th of April, a very remarkable and extraordinary occurrence. 
For the most part the snow is in small quantity, and soon melts; but very heavy snow- 
storms sometimes occur; and the snow may then remain unmelted in the hollows on 
the hill-sides for two or three weeks. The deepest snowfall was on the 28th and 29th 
of December, 1879, when it measured 17 inches where there was no drift. In February, 



IS 



Climate of Jerusalem 



1874, it was 8^ inches deep, and on the 14th of March, 1880, five inches. The drifts 
are sometimes exceedingly deep. 

13. It is remarkable that of twelve earthquakes registered during these twenty- 
two years, no less than nine have been experienced in the rainy season, namely, one in 
October, one in December, one in January, two in February, three in March, and one in 
April; eight were associated with storm, and four occurred during snow. 

14. The overflow of Beer Eyub, in the Kidron Valley, is regarded by the inhabit- 
ants of Jerusalem as an indication that there will be no serious deficiency of water for 
drinking during the ensuing summer. Careful observations show that the overflow of 
this well does not depend so much on the quantity of rain which has fallen since the 
commencement of the season as upon a large quantity falling in a short time. On 
each of the four occasions on which rain has fallen in September there has been no 
overflow of Beer Eyub in the following rainy season. 

15. A very deficient rainfall is invariably followed by a deficient harvest, but a 
rainfall much above the average does not necessarily result in a proportionately large 
harvest. The conditions most favorable to a good yield of wheat and barley are a 
liberal supply of winter rain, falling on many days, with no prolonged intervals of fine 
and dry weather, and a copious fall of latter or spring rain. Taking the price of wheat as 
an indication of the quality of the harvest, we find that after the four years of low- 
est rainfall, the mean of which was 14 inches, the mean cost of a measure of wheat was 
31 piastres; after the three years of highest rainfall the mean of which was 37 inches 
the mean cost of a measure of wheat was 23 piastres; and after the four years of nearly 
average rainfall, the mean of which was 23 inches, the mean cost of a measure of wheat 
was only 18 piastres. When the previous part of the season has been favorable, the 
harvest may be said to depend entirely upon a sufficiency of the late rains, but a favor- 
able latter rain cannot save the harvest if the corn has previously been extensively 
shrivelled by a long continuance of easterly winds; nor will the most promising harvest 
prove satisfactory unless a sufficiency of rain fall at the end of March or during the 
month of April. 

16. In the Hebrew scriptures, whilst "mathar" is used as a generic term for rain, 

' ' geshem" appears to signify the pouring winter rain , ' ' joreh ' ' or "moreh ' ' the early rain, and 
"malkosh" the latter rain. In the well known passage in Joel (ii. 23), the three are men- 
tioned together, and the connection indicates the necessity of all three for the pro- 
duction of a fruitful harvest: "He will cause to come down upon you the heavy winter 
rain , "geshem" ,the early rain , "moreh ' ' , and the latter rain , "malkosh ' ' , and the floors shall 
be full of wheat" ; and again in Hosea (vi. 3) : "He shall come to us like the heavy winter 
rain, "geshem", like the latter rain, "malkosh", and the former rain "joreh", upon the 
earth" — all that are required to fertilise it; neither being sufficient alone. The 
beautiful description of spring in the Song of Songs (ii. n, et seq.) is untrue to nature 
as rendered in our English translation. The flowers appear on the earth, and the time 
of the singing of birds comes at least six weeks before the rain is over and gone. It is 
when the heavy winter rain, "geshem", ceases, and the warm spring weather commences, 
that the flowers appear, the birds begin to sing, and the voice of the turtle is heard, 
a.nd it is during this pleasant period that the latter rains fall at intervals. (Cf. Gen. 
vii. 12, and Ezra x. 13). 

1. Jerusalem is 2,500 feet above the level of the Mediterranean Sea, and the 
mean height of the barometer at 9 a. m. during twenty-one years, corrected for index 
error and reduced to 32 Fahrenheit, has been 27-398. The highest reading during 



Climate of Jerusalem 



19 



the period was 27-816, on the 31st of December, 1879; the lowest, 26-972, on the 22nd 
of April. 1863. and the 3rd of February. 1865, so that the extreme range has been 
0-844. The mean annual range has been 0.626. During the eight months in which 
rain falls, namelv. October to May inclusive, the mean height of the mercury has been 
27-428; and during the four summer months, when rain very seldom falls, namely, 
June to September inclusive. 27-331. The months of lowest pressure are July and 
August, when the mean reading has been 27-290. 

2. The mean monthly range has been 0-305. The highest and the lowest read- 
ings have occurred in the winter or spring seasons. During the five months from De- 
cember to April inclusive, the mean monthly range has been 0-423; and during the 
seven months from May to November inclusive, 0-222. 

1 . The following report on temperature is founded chiefly on observations made 
through eight successive years, namely, 1864 to 1871 inclusive, with only one short 
break which does not materially influence the result. 

2 The mean temperature during this period was 62-8 Fahrenheit. The coldest 
month is February, when the mean temperature was 47-9. It rises month by month 
until August, when it was 76-1 , and then sinks again month by month until the fol- 
lowing February. 

3. Although the mean temperature is highest in August, the hottest days do not 
always occur in that month. The highest temperature during these eight years was 
on the 24th of June. 1869. when it reached 103-5 - in ^lay also and September the 
temperature sometimes rises to 100 or higher. The highest temperature observed 
during twenty-one years was on the 28th and 30th of August, 1881, when it remained 
for some hours at 112 . The mean temperature during seven days, terminating on 
August 31st in that year, was 94' 4 - 

4. Although the mean temperature is lowest in February, the minimum of the 
year does not always occur in that month. The lowest temperature observed during 
twenty-one years was on the 20th of January. 1846, when the minimum thermometer 
registered 25 Fahrenheit, or 7° of frost. In February and October also, and once in 
April, a minimum of 32" and 30 has been noted. In Jerusalem frost generally occurs 
on five or six nights in the course of the winter, but it is rare for ice to remain through- 
out the day. except in cold situations sheltered from the sun. It will be remembered 
that the thermometrical observations are made in a garden within the city. It is no 
doubt often much colder on the hills outside. 

5. The mean monthly range has been 39 9 . It is greatest in the spring, early 
summer, and autumn, less in July and August, and least in December. January, and 
February. From its maximum of 49. 8°. in May, it sank to 37.3 and 38 in July 
and August, rose again to 44. 8°, in October. again sank to 31 and 31-6° in December 
and January, and again rose through February, March, and April to its maximum in 
May. Thus there are in the course of the year two maxima and two minima of monthlv 
range. 

6. The mean daily range has been 19-5°. It is greatest in summer from May to 
October, having during these six months been 23-3°. During the six months from 
November to April it was 15-7 . The greatest mean daily range was in September, 
24-1°; the least in January, 13 . 

7. The climate of Jerusalem presents at different times the extremes of dryness 
and moisture. Not unfrequently during the rainy months the dry and wet bulb of the 
hygrometer stand at the same point, whilst in "sirocco" weather the difference is very 



20 



Climate of Jerusalem 



great. The mean difference throughout the year at 9 a. m. has been 9. 6°; during the 
six months from November to April, inclusive, 5. 8°; and during the six months from 
May to October, inclusive, 13- 1°. But 9 a. m. is not the driest hour of the day. When 
"sirocco" is prevalent the dry and wet bulb at noon, or a little later, sometimes differ 
25 or even 30 or more degrees. On one extraordinary occasion, in August, 1881, there 
was for a few hours in the middle of the day a difference of 40 , the dry bulb marking 
112 , and the wet bulb 72 , and on two or three days the difference was 35 at 9 a. m. 

1. In no country are the health and comfort of the inhabitants and the fruitful - 
ness of the soil more immediately and obviously influenced by the character and direc- 
tion of the wind than in Palestine. The north wind is cold, the south warm, the east 
dry, and the west moist; and the winds from the intermediate quarters partake of 
these characteristics in a degree corresponding to their nearness to the cardinal points ; 
the north east wind is cold and dry, the north west cold and moist, the south east hot 
and dry, and so on. 

2. North and north-westerly winds prevail most in the summer months, when 
they are cool and refreshing, moderately dry, and accompanied by no clouds, or only 
a few cirri or cumuli. The northerly winds of winter are cold and sharp, and dry or 
moist accordingly as they come from northeast or northwest. When from the latter 
quarter they are frequently accompanied by masses of cumulus, which have a very 
beautiful appearance against the deep blue of the sky. The coolness and sharpness of 
the north winds, even in the summer season, are much dreaded, especially by the 
inhabitants of the maritime plain, where they produce sore throats, fevers, and dysen- 
teries. These winds are called sumawy, i. e., heavenly; probably from the clear blue 
sky which accompanies them. North, north-west, and north-east winds have occurred 
on 182 days in the year at 9 a. m. 

Whenever during summer there is little wind for several days the heat becomes 
very great, the mercury in the barometer rises, and the air becomes almost as dry 
and destitute of ozone as in a sirocco, even though what little wind there is blows 
from a northerly quarter. Ordinarily this condition is obviated by the springing up 
of a strong westerly breeze in the afternoon. This breeze is felt as early as 9 or 10 a. m: 
at Jaffa and other places along the coast, but does not usually reach Jerusalem before 
2 or 3 p. m., sometimes not until much later. After sunset it subsides, but soon rises 
again, and continuing through a great part of the night refreshes the parched land 
with the abundance of moisture with which it is laden. From a sanitary point of 
view the value of this evening breeze can hardly be overrated. When it does not blow, 
or blows very gently, bringing no clouds, and not rising again after the lull which 
follows sunset, the nights are hot and depressing, there is no dew, and the mornings are 
wanting in freshness. 

One of the most important differences between the climate of the hill district 
and that of the low western coast of Palestine is in connection with this daily wind 
from the sea. Although felt nearly every day on the coast, it does not always reach 
the hills, and hence in very hot weather, when Jerusalem, for instance, is almost insup- 
portable from a severe easterly wind, Jaffa may be comparatively cool and pleasant. 
In traversing the plain also this wind loses much of its moisture; and it is only after 
it has been blowing with considerable force for some hours that its refreshing qualities 
are fully experienced. The struggle for the mastery which sometimes takes place 
when a current of hot, dry, heavy air from the east meets this moist sea breeze is 
extremely interesting to witness. Neither being strong enough to overcome the others, 



Climate of Jerusalem 



21 



the lighter west wind occasionally rises above the eastern current, and clouds may be 
seen floating towards the east, whilst the lower stratum of air is moving westward, 
and this mav continue some time before a fusion takes place and equilibrium is estab- 
lished (see below). Sometimes a violent disturbance occurs, whirlwinds are produced, 
clouds and pillars of dust arise, and an hour or more may elapse before the west wind 
prevails; for it is alwavs the west wind that obtains the victory after these severe con- 
tests. At other times the change to a westerly wind is so silent as to pass unnoticed, 
except in consequence of the change in the quality of the air. The lassitude occasioned 
bv extreme heat suddenly begins to pass away, the spirits revive, exertion again 
becomes a pleasure. and a glance at the vane shows that a westerly wind is already 
established. It is verv curious, if one happens to be looking out, to see the weather- 
cock suddenlv turn round without apparent cause, and almost immediately to feel the 
refreshing influence of cooler and moister air. The wind has blown direct from the 
west fifty-five times in a year at 9 a. m. Though most frequent in July and August, 
the west wind is more equally distributed over the several months than any other 
wind. 

3. Easterlv winds are common in autumn, winter, spring, and the month of 
Mav. In summer they are rare; on a mean of sixteen years it has blown from an 
eastern quarter on 101 days in the year at 9 a. m. ; from June to September, inclusive, 
on three days in each month; from October to May, inclusive, on eleven days in each 
month. But it is not uncommon during the hot weather for an easterly 
wind to blow for three or four hours in the middle of the day, and in the evening to give 
way to westerly wind which continues until 10 or 11 o'clock next morning, so that the 
register made at 9 a. m. does not show all the easterly winds that have occurred. 

In the winter the east wind is accompanied by a clear blue sky, with perhaps a 
few cirri. It is dry, stimulating, and, if not too strong, very agreeable. But in the 
warmer months it is unpleasant and depressing from its great heat and dryness, and 
the haze and dust which occasionally accompany it. It is when the wind blows from 
the south east that it acquires the peculiarities which Europeans usually signify by 
the term sirocco. At such time the sky ma}' be cloudless, or with some cirrus and 
stratus, the temperature is high,84° to 90 , or higher, the air destitute of ozone, and 
extremely dry, the difference between the wet and dry bulb being often as much as 24 
or even 28° or 30°. There may be calm, but sometimes the wind amounts to 1 or i'5,° 
and veers between east, south east, and south. The more the wind tends to the south, 
the more dull and overcast is the sky, and the more disagreeable to the feelings the 
state of the atmosphere; the more it tends to the east, the clearer is the sky and the 
stronger and fresher the breeze. The worst kind of sirocco dries the mucous mem- 
brane of the air passages, producing a kind of inflammation resulting in catarrh and 
sore throat; it induces great lassitude, incapacitating for mental as well as bodily 
exertion, in those who walk or work in it; headache, with a sense of constriction as if a 
cord were tied round the temples, oppression of the chest, burning of the palms of the 
hands and soles of the feet, accelerated pulse, thirst, and sometimes actual fever. It 
dries and cracks furniture, loosening the joints of tables and chairs, curls the covers 
of books and pictures hung in frames, parches vegetation, sometimes withering whole 
fields of young corn. Its force is not usually great, but sometimes severe storms of 
wind and fine dust are experienced,the hot air burning like a blast from an oven, and 
the sand cutting the face of the traveller who has the misfortune to encounter it. This 
kind of air has a peculiar smell, not unlike that of the neighborhood of a burning 



22 



Climate of Jerusalem 



brick kiln. Sometimes the most remarkable whirlwinds are produced, especially in 
the western plain near the hills, by the meeting of a strong east or south-east wind 
with a wind from the west or north. Clouds of sand fly about in all directions, now 
striking the traveller in front, now behind, and now on the side; and the gusts of 
wind are so violent as to blow weak persons from their horses, and to overturn baggage 
animals. The cold sirocco of winter often blows with much force, and when it comes 
from a few degrees north of east, is is so cold and piercing as sometimes to kill those 
who are exposed to it without sufficient clothing, instances of which occurred in 1867. 

The following is a note of a summer sirocco written at the time of its occurrence : — 
"At 9 a.m. on August 24th, 1877, a brisk wind was blowing direct from the east, there 
was considerable haze and dust, and high up towards the northeast some cirro-cumu- 
lus. In the course of the morning cumulus increased, and became mingled with the 
haze. At sunset it was 3. The dry bulb at 9 a. m. was 96 , wet bulb 63°; at 11 a. m., 
dry bulb 102 , wet bulb 66°; at noon, dry bulb 103-3°, wet bulb 66-5°. About 5 p. m. 
a rainbow was observed, and a few drops of rain were said to have fallen a little west of 
the city. During this remarkable day a very dry, and consequently heavy stratum 
of heated air was driven with considerable force from the east, and was met (probably 
in the western plain) by a moist current from the sea; they did not immediately 
mingle, but the light moist air passed onwards towards the east over the heavy stratum 
of hot dry air, the velocity of both being impeded. The wind below continued east all 
day, sinking gradually from a force of 0.5 to 0.2, and eventually to 0.0, and in the even- 
ing a light soft breeze sprang up from west-south-west which passed round to west 
soon after sunset. The next morning the two strata of air had commingled, the sky 
was clear, excepting some haze in the horizon, temperature very high, 97.5° at 9 a. m., 
rising to 107° at noon, and the difference between the wet and dry bulb had gone down 
to 34°. At noon the wind, which until then had been northeast, passed by way of 
north to west." The termination of a late autumn sirocco is different. "November 
4th, 1868. After sirocco had prevailed for more than thirty days, the wind suddenly 
changed on October 30th, by way of south to west, a breeze sprang up bringing cumuli 
and loose masses of nimbus; much dew was deposited during the night, and there were 
a few drops of rain. Two gusty cloudy days followed, the atmosphere becoming more 
and more hazy from fine dust, and on the evening of November 2nd a heavy, long 
continued shower of rain fell, preceded by thunder. The next day there was more 
rain, and by the morning of the 5th upwards of an inch had been measured. During 
the days preceding the rain the barometer and thermometer both fell — the former 
gradually, the latter more suddenly. At 9 a. m. on October 30th the temperature was 
88°, at 9 a. m. on the 31st 66°, and on the 3rd of November it had fallen to 53°, a 
difference of 35° in four days." 

It is an old and common saying that a sirocco always lasts three days, but like 
many other popular sayings this is only partially true. A sirocco may last three days, 
or it may last twenty, or even thirty days. Thus in 1868 there was sirocco almost 
every day from 28th of September until the weather began to break up for rain on 
October 30th. During the continuance of sirocco there is frequently a partial change 
in consequence of the sea breeze of the afternoon reaching the hills, and the vane is 
often found pointing to north or north-west at 9 a. m. It occasionally happens that 
the air has all the qualities of a bad sirocco when the wind is blowing from a northerly 
or westerly quarter. No doubt the sirocco storms are often of the nature of cyclones, 
and these instances are probably sometimes due to the returning current of a wind 



Climate of Jerusalem 



23 



which originally proceeded from some point between south and east. But the peculiar- 
ties of this wind, its heat, dryness, and its deficiency in ozone, are probably of telluric 
origin: and it appears that whenever a very high temperature prevails for some days 
without wind, the quality of the air in contact with the surface of the earth becomes 
modified.and a wind springing up from any quarter may then have for a time the proper- 
ties of the true sirocco — the simoon, or poisonous wind, which usually comes from the 
interior of Arabia. 

4. The mean force of the wind at 9 a. m. has been 0-46 on a mean of ten years. 
It is greatest in February. March, and April, in which the mean has been 0-65, and 
least in August. September, and October, when the mean has been 0-30. During the 
winter months the force of the wind sometimes amounts to y 5 or 4, on a scale of o — 6. 
but it is very seldom that damage of a serious nature is done to trees or buildings. The 
mean number of days on which there was calm at 9 a. m. has been 108 in a year, the 
greatest number being in the five months from September to January inclusive, when 
the mean in each month was eleven days. As in all mountain districts, absolute calm 
is rare for any length of time, and a very delicate instrument might perhaps have 
detected some movement of the air on many of the days entered as calm. 

r. As in other warm countries, clouds are in Palestine a very important element 
of the climate. Their presence is beneficial in three ways — they are at once a cause and 
a sign of moisture in the air; b}~ intercepting the rays of the sun they produce shade 
which moderates the heat ; and by the evaporation of the water of which they are com- 
posed the temperature of the atmosphere is lowered. The mean annual amount of 
cloud at 9 a. m. on a mean of sixteen years has been 2-8. The amount is smallest in 
July and August (o - 6 and 0-9); it rises gradually through the autumn to its maximum 
in the winter months, and then falls again gradually to its minimum in July. On 
the same mean, 140 days in the year have been cloudless at 9 a. m., the maximum 
number being in July (21.5), and the minimum in February and March (5-1 and 5-5). 

1. During the fine weather of the winter months dew falls in Palestine from 
the same causes and under the same circumstances as in Europe, the moisture con- 
tained in the atmosphere being deposited when the night is favorable to the radiation of 
heat from the surface of the earth. But in the summer months, when the whole 
country is arid - and there is no water to evaporate, the copious dews are brought entirely 
by the westerly winds from the sea. If no westerly breeze, or a verv light one, springs 
up towards evening, there is no dew. The heavy dews of summer which modifv the 
climate so remarkably differ from ordinary dew in the manner of their deposition, being in 
great part precipitated in the air in the form of mist before being deposited on the earth. 

After a very dewy night the sky at daybreak is obscured — and often houses, trees, 
etc., also — by a thick mist, the ground, plants, stones, and especially tents, being wet 
as if rain had fallen. As the sun rises the mist begins to clear, and large masses of loose 
flocculent clouds are formed, between which the bright blue sky is here and there 
visible. These masses of cloud become smaller and denser as the heat increases, form- 
ing beautiful cumuli, which in their turn disappear and give place to the dull blue 
sky usual in summer. The time at which these morning clouds entirely disappear 
depends on their amount and the heat of the weather. Frequently the sky is quite 
clear by 9 o'oclock. and it is rare for more than one or two masses of cumulus to remain 
later than 10 or 11 o'clock, but during the day, when the wind is not easterly, a little 
light cloud may sometimes be seen to form in the sky, and after growing for a time 
gradually but quickly disappear, to be soon followed by another. 



24 



Climate of Jerusalem 



The unhealthy period of the year, the period in which the climatic diseases of the 
country, such as ophthalmia, fevers, and dysentery, are most prevalent, extends 
from May to October inclusive. Six things strongly characterise this period. i. 
Almost entire absence of rain; 2. Low atmospheric pressure with small range; 3. 
High temperature with great daily range; 4. Great dryness of the atmosphere; 5. 
A very small amount of cloud; and 6. Except at the beginning and end of the period, 
a minimum of easterly winds. 



Table I. — Showing date of commencement and termination of rains, and the duration 
of the rainy and dry seasons. 





Date of 


Duration of 


Seasons 


Commencement 


Termination 


Rainv Season 


Following 
Dry Season 












Ua vs 


.Da vs 


1S60-1 


November 


1 2th 


May 


25th 


r 95 


172 


1861-2 


November 


14th 


April 


2 9th 


167 


I& 5 


1862-3 


November 


1 st 


April 


28th 




167 


1863-4 


October 


13th 


April 


26th 


197 


197 


1864-5 


November 


10th 


May 


oth 


181 


17-5 


1865-6 


November 


1 st 


April 


2 1st 


172 


165 


1866-7 


October 


4th 


May 


1 2th 


221 


181 


1867-8 


November 


10th 


May 


27th 


200 


158 


1868-9 


November 


2nd 


May 


7 th 


187 


191 


1869-70 


November 


15th 


April 


22nd 




i73 


1 870-1 


October 


13th 


May 


2nd 


202 


i73 


187 1-2 


October 


23rd 


May 


24th 


215 


i34 


1872-3 


October 


6th 


May 


3rd 


210 


i73 


!873"4 


October 


24th 


April 


5 th 


164 


211 


1874-5 


November 


3rd 


May 


1st 


180 


i95 


1875-6 


November 


13th 


May 


1 6th 


186 


145 


1876-7 


October 


9th 


April 


28th 


202 


i74 


1877-8 


October 


20th 


May 


7 th 


200 


204 


1878-9 


November 


28th 


April 


2nd 


126 


20S 


1S79-80 


October 


28th 


May 


2nd 


188 


167 


1880-1 


October 


17th 


May 


2ISt 


217 


167 


1881-2 


November 


5th 


May 


23rd 


200 












Means . . 


188.5 


176.9 



Climate of Jerusalem 



25 



Table II. — Showing the number of days on which rain fell, and the amount of rain in 
each month during 22 rainy seasons, from i860— 1 to 18S1— 2. 





1 860-1 




IoOI 2 


si 1S62-3 


1863—4 


Months 


Days 


Inches 


Days 


Inches 


Days 


Inches 


Days 


Inches 


September. . 




















October . . 










. . 






7 


1 . 900 




2 


- io 5 






9 


2 


957 


1 


. 190 


December. . 


/ 


2 . 191 


J 3 


7-7 6 3 




2 


5^7 


12 


7-i 2 5 


January . . 




9.663 


14 


12 .409 


10 


9 . 


109 


8 


6.890 


February . . 


_ 


6 -495 




2 . 270 


; 


2 . 


402 


5 


i-5°3 


March 




2 . j.02 


3 


633 




3 - 


695 


j. 


1.082 


April 


T 


-3 l6 




1 . 003 






112 


6 


1.64S 


May 


,1 


















Totals . . 




21 . 647 


4JL 2 J. . 262 




22 . 


S62 


43 


20. 33S 



On January 23. 1884, Professor Hull of England, writing from Jerusalem, declares 
as follows: 

23rd January, 18S4. 

"Our expedition has been brought to a stand in a most unexpected manner. We 
have been snowed up in the Sacred City since Monday, and will be unable to move till 
the day after to-morrow. 

"We had returned on Friday from our expedition to Jericho and the Lower Jordan 
Valley, and had everything prepared for an early start on Monday morning northwards 
to Beyrout, when Bernhard Heilpern came to our bedroom doors about 7 a. m.. saying. 
"You need not get up. Gentlemen; you cannot move, snow is a foot deep already.' 
And so it was: and the fall continued during Monday and part of Tuesday .till it reached 
two feet and over in depth, and rendered all egress impracticable. Even the best 
road in Palestine, that is. from here to Jaffa, has been closed and the telegraph wire 
broken. The fall of snow was accompanied on Tuesday by a terrific gale from the 
west. Trees have been uprooted or broken, and much damage done. However, a 
thaw set in last night, and continued to day. and the weather now promises to settle. 
But a fourteen days' journey on horseback, over mountains and valleys, and sleeping 
in tents by night, is out of the question now. Even if practicable (which is doubtful) 
I feel I should not be justified in exposing our party to such a risk to their health. The 
country will be flooded for some days, the rivers swollen, and the air cold and damp in 
the extreme." 

The streets of Jerusalem are narrow and indifferently paved: and, with one or 
two exceptions, they are very dirty. There may be said to be two main streets, run- 
ning almost at right angles to each other through the heart of the city, and dividing 
Jerusalem into four quarters. These are David Street, which traverses the city from 
the Jaffa Gate on the west to the Temple area on the east ; and Damascus Street, or 
Zion Street, which runs from the Damascus Gate on the Xorth to a little eastward of 
Zion Gate on the south. The northwest is the Christian quarter; the northeast the 
Muslim; the southeast the Jewish: and the southwest the Armenian. A street runs 



26 



Streets of Jerusalem 



northward from David Street through the Christian quarter, passing between the 
Greek convent and the Church of the Holy Sepulchre. This is called Christian Street. 
About the centre of it, a narrow lane and a flight of steps lead down on the right to the 
area in front of the Church of the Holy Sepulchre ; and through a dooway at the east 
is a road, called Palmer Street, leading to the Muristan. Another street commences 
at the Latin convent, passes down through gloomy archways to the bed of the Tyro- 
pceon, crosses Damascus street, where it diverges to a parallel line a little to the 
north of its former course; then passing under the arch of the "Ecce Homo," it pro- 




CHRISTIAN STREET AT JERUSALEM 

ceeds to St. Stephen's Gate on the east. This is the well-known "Via Dolorosa," 
erroneously held by some to have been the route trodden by our Lord on the way 
to crucifixion. The natives call it the "Street of the Palace," because it passes in 
front of the Turkish serai. 

The one great central object of interest at Jerusalem is the Holy Sepulchre. For 
nearly sixteen centuries it lias been the object of universal Christian veneration. From 



The Holy Sepulchre 



27 



all lands pilgrims have journeyed through great dangers -and hardships to pay homage 
to that sacred spot. For its recuperation the Christian armies of Europe fought long 
and hloody wars. Xo spot on earth has ever been held so sacred 

Therefore before beginning the diary of my life in the Holy Land it will be well to 
examine the question of the authenticity of the Holy Sepulchre. In the first place 
it must be remarked that the Protestants who believe in its genuineness are the excep- 
tion: while among Catholics it is a far rarer exception to find one who doubts it. Some 




Catholics go so far as to bring the charge of disloyalty to the Catholic faith against any 
one who should doubt the authenticity of the Sepulchre and Calvary. But scientific in- 
vestigation must not be hindered by sentiment. Neither the site of the Holy Sepulchre 
or of Calvarv, or of anv other holv place forms any part of Catholic faitlror piety. 
The question is open to honest investigation, and if in that investigation the present 
sites be disproven, our faith has suffered nothing. The devotion of the centuries to 



28 



Golgotha 



these places has not been misguided: We do not worship earth or stones. The Catho- 
lic faith worships the Lord God, and venerates the things associated with him. In 
all such veneration honor is paid to the Lord Jesus, even though there be an error of 
fact in the thing believed to be associated with him. The faith in Jesus Christ and 
the love of him are the formal motive which has made of the traditional Holy Sepulchre a 
shrine. The site may be erroneous; but the prayers of the faithful of all lands uttered 
there have been presented as golden bowls of incense to the Lamb. 

We shall treat the question of Calvary first by presenting the evidence in favor 
of the present site, and then presenting the contrary evidence. 

The Gospel account of the Crucifixion leaves the site of the place indefinite. 

St. John tells us that the place was called in Greek the place of a skull, and in 
Hebrew Golgotha. St. Luke tells us that the place was called The Skull. Matthew 
and Mark inform us that Golgotha means the place of a skull, It would be more cor- 
rect to say that Golgotha means a skull. In this account Luke is the more accurate; 
the place was called Golgotha, which means a skull. The Latin term Calvaria has the 
same meaning. In Hebrew the term is Gulgoleth from the root Galal to roll. In the 
Aramaic dialect this becomes by contraction Gulgatha, Golgotha. 

The theories to explain why the place was called Golgotha are reducible to three 
classes. One theory explains the name from the fact that Adam was buried there. 
For this opinion we have the following testimonies: 

1. Origen, Commentary on St. Matthew. — "The Place of a Skull is said to have 
no slight claim to have been the place where he who died for men should have died. 
I have received a tradition to the effect that the body of Adam, the first man, was 
buried upon the spot where Christ was crucified, that, as in Adam all die, so in Christ 
all should be made alive: that in the place which is called the Place of a Skull, that is, 
the place of a head, the head of the human race rose again in the resurrection of 
our Lord and Saviour, who suffered there." (Preserved in the Latin translation only). 

In the Catena there are the following Greek words in MS.: — "With regard to the 
Place of a Skull, a Hebrew tradition has come down to us that Adam's body is buried 
there, to the end that as in Adam all die, even so in Christ all shall be made alive again." 
(Migne, Patrologia Graeca, xiii. col. 1,777.) 

2. Athanasius, De Passione et Cruce Domini. — "Wherefore he did not suffer, he 
did not hang on the cross in any other place but in the Place of a Skull, which the 
Hebrew teachers declare was Adam's sepulchre; for there they say he was buried 
after the curse. Now, if this be so, I admire the appropriateness of the place, for it 
was needful that Christ, when he was renewing the old Adam, should suffer in that 
place, that by taking away his sin he might set all mankind free from it. And whereas 
God said to Adam, 'Dust thou art, and unto dust shalt thou return' (Gen. iii. 19), 
He came hither to the end, that he might find Adam there, and free him from that 
curse; that instead of that 'Dust thou art, and unto dust thou shalt return,' — He 
might say unto him 'Awake, thou that sleepest, and arise from the dead, and Christ 
shall give thee light;' and, again, 'Rise, come and follow Me,' that thou mayest not 
longer lie in the earth, but mavest ascend to the heavens. Indeed, it was necessary 
that when the Saviour rose, Adam, and all the seed of Adam, should rise with him." 
(Migne, Patrologia Graeca, xxviii. col. 208). 

3. Epiphanius, Adversus Haereses (lib. 1, torn. iii. xlvi. 5). — "Wherefore a man 
of understanding mav wonder that, as we have been taught by the Scriptures, Our 
Lord Jesus Christ was crucified at Golgotha, in no other place than that in which Adam 



Golgotha 



29 



lay buried. For Adam, when he was cast out of Paradise, dwelt for a long time over 
against it. Then a long time afterwards he removed to the place Jerusalem, of which 
I have spoken, and there.when he died, he was buried in Golgotha. From this the place 
itself has rightly received its name, so that when interpreted it may be called the Place 
of a skull. There is nothing to be seen in the place resembling this name; for it is not 
situated upon a height that it should be called the Place of a Skull, answering to the 
place of the head in the human body ; neither has it the shape of a lofty watch tower, 
for it does not even rise above the places round about it . 

Indeed, over against it stands the Mount of Olives, which is a higher hill than it; 
but the highest is the mountain of Gibeon, which stands eight miles away from it. 
Lastly, even that hill which once stood on Mount Sion, but at the present day has 
been cut down, was higher than Golgotha on that spot. Whence, then, did it obtain 
the name of the Place of a skull ? Xo doubt because there the bare skull of the first 
man was discovered and his remains dug up ; for this cause it was called the Place of 
a Skull. In this place our Lord Jesus Christ was lifted up on the Cross, and by the 
water and blood which flowed from his pierced side typified the whole scheme of 
our salvation*' . . . — (Migne, Patrologia Graeca, xli. col. 844). 

4. Basil (of Caesarea), Commentary on Isaiah v. § 141. — "There was a prevalent 
belief, preserved in the Church by an unwritten tradition, to the effect that Adam 
was the first inhabitant of Palestine, who fixed his abode there after he had been driven 
out of Paradise (Gen. hi. 23), that he might compensate himself for the good 
things which he had lost. This land therefore received the first man who died, for it was 
there Adam paid his debt. Wherefore the bone of his skull, when bared of flesh, appeared 
as a new and strange sight to the men of that age. Xow, as they placed his skull in this 
place, the}" called the place itself the Place of a Skull. It is probable that this 
sepulchre of the first of all men was well known, so that after the flood this tradi- 
tion about it was prevalent. For this cause the Lord, perceiving there the first 
fruits of human death, Himself suffered death in the place called the Place of a 
Skull, to the end that at the place where men's death first began there also life should 
begin its reign; so that as death had dominion over Adam, so by the death of Christ he 
should lose his power" (Cor. xv. 22). — (Migne, Patrologia Graeca, xxx. col. 348). 

5. Chrysostom, Commentary on St. John, xix. 16-18; Horn. 85. — "'Andhecame 
to the place of a skull.' Some say that Adam died there, and there lieth; and that 
Jesus in this place where death had reigned, there also set up the trophy" (i. e., the 
Cross). — (Migne, Patrologia Graeca, lix. col. 459. _ 

6. Xonnus Panopolitanus, Paraphrase of St. John, xix. — 

" — and Jesus bearing his cross, 
Willingly went on his way, undaunted in mind, to his doom, 
Till he arrived at the place which is called the Place of a Skull, 
Bearing the name on its brow of Adam the first of men, 
Golgotha called in the Syrian tongue." 

— (Migne, Patrologia Graeca, xliii. col. 901.) 
7. Basil (of Seleucia), Oration xxxviii. 3. — "According to the traditions of the 
Jews, it is said that the skull of Adam was found here, and that this was known to 
Solomon through his great wisdom. This, they say, is the reason why this place was 
called "the Place of a Skull." — (Migne, Patrologia Graeca, lxxxv. col. 409). 



30 



Golgotha 



8. Tertullian, Adversus Marcionem, lib. ii. cap. 4. — 
"There is a place, now Golgotha, once Calvary, 

Place of a Skull named in the earlier tongue; 

Here is earth's centre, here was victory won; 

Here, ancients say, was found a mighty head, 

Here, we have heard, the first man lay entombed; 

Christ suffered here, his blood bedewed the earth, 

So that old Adam's dust with blood of Christ 

Commingled, by that saving flood might rise." 
(Appendix I. to to the genuine works of Tertullian.) — (Migne, Patrologia Latina, ii. 
col. 1,067). 

10. i. Ambrose, Epist. 7 1 , ^ 10. To Horontianus. — "There (at Golgotha) was the 
sepulchre of Adam; that Christ by his Cross might raise him from death. Thus, where 
in Adam was the death of all, there in Christ was the resurrection of all. " — (Migne, 
Patrologia Latina, xvi. col. 1,243; Pusey, Library of the Fathers, Epistles of St. 
Ambrose). 

10. ii. Exposition of St. Luke's Gospel, lib.x. — "The place of the cross was either 
in the midst, that it might be easily seen of all; or above the burial place of Adam, 
according to the Hebrews. Indeed it was fitting that our spiritual life should have its 
beginning in the place wherein death first came into the world." — (Migne, Patrologia 
Latina, xv. col. 1,832, § 114). 

11. i. Jerome, Epistola Paulas et Eustochii ad Marcellam (Ep. 46 (17), written 
about A. D. 386). § 3. "Finally, to refer to an entirely different subject, let us go 
back to more ancient times. In this city, nay, in this very place, Adam is said to have 
dwelt there, and to have died there. Whence the place where Our Lord was crucified 
was called Calvary, because it was there that the ancient man's skull was buried, to the 
end that the second Adam, that is to say, the blood of Christ flowing from the Cross, 
might wash away the sins of Adam the first and first -formed man who lay there; and 
that then the words of the apostle might be fulfilled, -Awake, thou that sleepest, and 
arise from the dead, and Christ shall give thee light'" (Ephes. v. 14). — )Migne, Patro- 
logia Latina, xxii. col. 485). 

11. ii. Commentary on the Ephesians.v. 14. — "I remember to have heard some- 
one discoursing in church upon this passage, and he tried to please the people by telling 
them of a stage miracle, a matter never heard of before, saying: 'This testimony applies 
to Adam who was buried in the place Calvary, where the Lord was crucified. This 
place was called Calvary, because the head of the ancient man was buried there; when 
therefore, at the time when the Lord was crucified, he hung over his sepulchre (lit. at 
that time, therefore, when the Lord on his Cross was hanging over his (Adam's) sepul- 
chre) this prophecy was fulfilled which saith, 'Arise, Adam, thou that sleepest, and 
arise from the dead.' " — (Migne, Patrologia Latina, xxvi. col. 526). 

Jerome changes his opinion in his Comment, on St. Matt, xxvii. 33, declaring as 
follows : 

"I have heard someone explain that the place Calvary, in which Adam was buried, 
was so named because there the head of the ancient man was placed, and that this 
was what was meant bv the apostle when he said, 'Awake, thou that sleepest, and 
arise from the dead, and Christ shall give thee light.' This is a popular interpreta- 
tion and pleasing to the ears of the people; but nevertheless it is not a true one, for 
outside the city and without the gate there are places wherein the heads of condemned 



Golgotha 



31 



criminals are cut off, and which have obtained the name of Calvary, that is, of the 
beheaded. For this reason the Lord was crucified there, in order that the banner of 
his martyrdom might be set up in the place which had before been the field of the con- 
demned. And as for us he bore the reproach of the cross, was scourged and crucified, 
even so for the salvation of all men he was crucified as a criminal among criminals. But 
if anyone should argue that the Lord was crucified on that spot to the end that his 
blood might run down on to the tomb of Adam, let us ask him why the two thieves were 
crucified in the same place? From this it is evident that Calvary does not mean the 
sepulchre df the first man, but the place of the beheaded, and that where sin abounded, 
grace might much more abound (Romans v. 20). Now we read in the Book of Joshua 
(xiv. 15), the son of Xun, that Adam was buried at Hebron, which is Arba." — 
(Migne, Patrologia Latina, xxv. col. 209). 

Jerome's error in placing the burial place of Adam at Hebron arises from his faulty 
translation of the passage Josh. xiv. 15 He translates it : "The name of Hebron 
was before called Cariath Arbe: Adam the greatest among the Enacims was laid there." 
The proper translation is: "The name of Hebron beforetime was Kiriath Arba (the 
city of Arba); which Arba was the greatest man among the Anakim." Jerome 
rejected Adam's burial at Calvary because it conflicted with his erroneous transla- 
tion. 

Some faint trace of this superstition is found in later Jewish tradition : 
Moses Bar Cepha, De Paradiso, i. cap. 14. — "Adam, after the loss of Paradise, first 
lived in Judaea, and, after he had travelled in'many countries and dwelt in many places, 
came towards the end of his days to Mount Jebus, and was buried there. Now Jebus 
is certainly Jerusalem. . . . (When Noah at the approach of the Deluge entered the 
ark with his sons), he took the bones of Adam with him, and when he left the ark after 
the Flood he distributed the bones amongst his sons. He also parted the world amongst 
them, giving to each his portion to dwell in. Thus he gave Adam's skull to his eldest 
son Shem, and alloted to him the land of Judaea; and so it happened that Shem, when he 
came to Judasa (his inheritance), reburied the skull of Adam, which he had received 
at the distribution of the bones by his father, at the sepulchre of Adam, which was 
then in existence. ... If that be the case, then it is true that the skull of Adam was 
buried at Jebus, i. e., Jerusalem, and that the cross of Christ was set up above it. It 
is also certain that Noah brought with him the bones of Adam from that other land, 
and that when he came into this our country, he gave the head to his first born, Shem, 
who, when he came to Jebus, his inheritance, buried it." — (Migne, Patrologia Graeca, 
cxi. cols. 497, 498). 

The absurdity of this superstition is self evident. No man knows the place of 
Adam's burial. Had he or any part of him been believed by the Jews to have been 
buried on Golgotha, the place would not have been called the contemptuous name, 
"the skull"; they would have held the place in the greatest honor; and would not 
have permitted condemned men to be there executed. And if such were the origin 
of the name, some mention of such fact should be expected from the writers who record 
the name. 

A second opinion scarcely less improbable than the first derives the name from the 
skulls of criminals there executed. We have seen that Jerome adopted this theory. 
It is also adopted by Bede. 

Ven. Bede, on St. Matthew xxvi. — "And when they were come unto a place called 
Golgotha. Now Golgotha is a Syrian word, and is, being interpreted, a place of a 



32 



Golgotha 



skull (Calvarise). This place is in ^Elia (Jerusalem), and was at that time without the 
city, on the northern side of Mount Sion, and was called the place of Calvary, not 
because of the baldness (calvitium) of the first man, whom some in error do vainly 
suppose to have been buried there, but because of the beheading of criminals and men 
condemned to die. For this reason the Lord was crucified there, in order that the 
standard of his martyrdom might be set up on the spot which heretofore had been the 
place of execution of the condemned." — (Migne, Patrologia Graeca, xcii. col. 123). 

The objections to this opinion are: — That as the singular, not the plural, is always 
used in the Bible narrative — "the place of a skull," not "the place of skulls," or 
simply, as in Luke, "the skull" — the name could not have referred to a collection of 
skulls; that decapitation, though it was a Roman form of punishment, and may have 
prevailed amongst the Jews under Roman rule, was not a common Jewish custom, 
and that the name, which possibly existed before the Roman occupation of Palestine, 
could not have been derived from the skulls of decapitated persons; that since, in ac- 
cordance with Jewish law (Deut. xxi. 23), the Jews buried those who had been put to 
death on the evening of the day of their execution, and crucified Jewish criminals were 
allowed burial under the Romans, the unburied dead or their skulls could not have been 
lying about; that a fixed public place of execution, according to Western ideas, is un- 
known in the East, and that if such a place existed at Jerusalem, and was known as 
Golgotha, the name wonld probably have been attached to places of a similar nature 
in other parts of Palestine — there is, however, no known instance of such use of the 
name; that, if the words in John xix. 41, Matt, xxvii. 60, are to be taken literally, 
the explanation involves the almost inconceivable theory that the garden of Joseph 
of Arimathsea was the public place of execution or immediately adjoined it; and that 
Joseph deliberately made a new tomb for himself at, or very near, a spot which every 
Jew must have regarded with abhorrence as unclean; that, philologically, the view 
that Golgotha means place of execution is inadmissible. 

The third opinion derives the name Golgotha from the fancied resemblance of the 
place to a human skull. It may have been a bare knoll, or underfeature with a project- 
ing cliff of rounded form which reminded those who looked at it of a skull. In accept- 
ing the probability of this view we are far from approving the opinion of those who see 
the eyes and mouth of a human head in the side of the rock of the place called Skull 
Hill at Jerusalem. These are fantastic views with no foundation; since much of the 
rock of that face of the hill has been cut away since the Crucifixion of Christ. It is not 
necessary that the natural features of the place bear close resemblance to a skull ; a 
slight bare knoll would be sufficient. It is customary in all lands and in all ages to 
give fanciful names to certain landscape features. I believe that a majority of writers 
adopt this third opinion. The text of Luke seems to add weight to it. He calls the 
place not "The place of the skull," but "The skull," as though he would derive the 
name not from anything associated with the place , but from the nature of the place 
itself. 

I mention here a conjecture not noticed by any writer before. Might it not be 
that by some unexplained fact a human skull had been left exposed at this place; 
and that the finding of this skull here had given rise to the name? 

There is nothing in the account given in the Gospels to warrant us in supposing 
that the place was of any considerable elevation. A little knoll by the wayside out- 
side the walls of Jerusalem is all that is demanded by the Scriptural account. 



Golgotha 



33 



The indications of position contained in the Gospels are very slight. The two sites 
of Golgotha and the sepulchre were near each other (John xix. 42). The place of 
Crucifixion was "nigh to the city" (John xix. 20) ; and we learn from the Epistle to 
the Hebrews that Jesus "suffered without the gate" (Heb. xiii. 12). There is nothing, 
however, further to show which side of Jerusalem these sites should be placed. 

The idea of Calvary as a "mount" is a fanciful idea of western origin. 

From the time of the Crucifixion until A. D. 326 history preserves nothing of 
the position or condition of Golgotha. We introduce here a brief epitome of the his- 
tory of Jerusalem during that epoch, taken from General Wilson's Golgotha: 

"It is obvious from the Bible narrative that the positions of Golgotha and the 
Tomb were known to the friends and enemies of Jesus who were at Jerusalem at the 
time of the Crucifixion, and it is certain that many of those persons were alive when, 
ten years later, Herod Agrippa (A. D. 41-43) built the third or outer wall of defense 
on the north side of the city. 

"In obedience to the warning of Jesus, the members of the Christian community 
fled from Jerusalem (circa A. D. 67-68) before the siege commenced, and established 
themselves at Pella. When Titus, whose destruction of the city was not complete, 
left for Rome, most of the Christians returned, and settled down amongst the ruins, 
after having been absent three or four years. Since the altitude of the holy places 
was slightly greater than that of the ground upon which the second wall stood — and 
their distance from the third wallw^as appreciable — the}' could not have been materially 
altered in appearance during the progress of the siege. Even supposing that they 
had been covered by one of the mounds of the besiegers, the sites would not have been 
lost. The Christians during their short absence could not have completely forgotten 
the exact position of places so intimately connected with the death, burial, and resurrec- 
tion of Christ. Many of them, men and women, had passed their lives at Jerusalem; 
some had probably witnessed the Crucifixion; and one at least (Simeon, son of Clopas, 
a cousin of the Lord's), suffered martyrdom in the reign of Trajan (circa A. D. 108) at 
the reputed age of 120 years. Further, the unaltered nature of the ground after the 
siege is indicated by the circumstance that Hadrian, when he erected a Temple of 
Venus on the spot (circa A.D. 135-136) carried out no demolition, and removed no 
rubbish, but was obliged to fill up hollows, and obtain a level platform by bringing the 
necessary material from a distance. 

"Nothing is known to have occurred during the interval that elapsed between the 
return from Pella and the suppression of the revolt of the Jews in the reign of Hadrian, 
which would justify the belief that all trace of the holy places had been obliterated, or 
that the Christians, whose numbers were steadily increasing, had forgotten their posi- 
tion. Simeon, son of Clopas, a contemporary of the death and resurrection of Jesus, 
who succeeded the Apostle James as Bishop of Jerusalem, lived to the first decade of 
the second century, and he was followedby thirteen Bishops of Hebrew origin, who would 
not have allowed a knowledge of the position of the holy places to die out. 

"The tradition with regard to the positions of Golgotha and the Tomb was thus 
continuous from the date of the Crucifixion to the time when Hadrian founded the 
Roman colony of .Elia on the ruins of Jerusalem, and a temple of Venus was built 
above the Sepulchre of Christ. By the erection of the temple — an act of profanation 
which in itself shows that the two places were then honored by Christians — the holy 
places were completely concealed, but their position was definitely marked for all 
time, and they were preserved from injury. 



34 



History of Jerusalem 



"After the foundation of /Elia, the city was visited by pilgrims from all parts of 
the world, and it became a matter of common knowledge that the holy places lay 
beneath the paved platform upon which the temple of Venus stood. When, there- 
fore, Constantine decided to recover the sites, and build churches in their honor, it was 
only necessary to demolish the temple and clear away the made ground beneath it. 
Eusebius, a contemporary, expresses no surprise at the recovery of the sites in his 
account of the circumstance: his remark that 'contrary to all expectation,' the 'vener- 
able and hallowed monument of Our Lord's Resurrection' was rendered visible by the 
clearance of the superincumbent soil, is a natural expression of astonishment at the 
preservation of the Tomb during so many years, and has no reference to a miraculous 
discovery. Parallel cases in modern times are the discoveries of Dr. Schliemann at 
Troy, and of Mr. Arthur Evans in Crete, both of which may be described as being 
'contrary to all expectation.' 

"It will be observed that the above arguments involve the assumption that Gol- 
gotha and the Tomb were objects of reverence, or at least of interest, to the Christians 
from the date of the resurrection to the time of Constantine; that the tradition with 
regard to their position was continuous throughout that period; and that the ground 
now occupied by the Church of the Holy Sepulchre was outside the second wall. This 
assumption raises three questions, each of which requires separate discussion — the 
possibility, or otherwise, of a continuous tradition; the attitude of the early Christians 
towards the holy places; and the course of the second wall. The last question is in the 
main topographical and archaeological, the first two are for the most part historical; 
and it is necessary to inquire what light is thrown upon them by the history of Jerusa- 
lem and its Church during the period A.D. 33-326, so far as it is known. 

"At the time of the Crucifixion (A. D. 29) Judaea was governed by a Roman offi- 
cial of equestrian rank, styled procurator, who resided at Cassarea, and was to a cer- 
tain extent subordinate to the Imperial Legate of Syria. The governor was invested 
with the military command, and a corps of auxiliary troops, raised from the non- 
Jewish inhabitants of Palestine — the Jews being exempted from military service — 
was placed at his disposal for the maintenance of order. He was also the supreme 
judicial authority, and decided matters of life and death, except in the case of Roman 
citizens, who could appeal to the emperor. The administration of the civil law was to 
a great extent left in the hands of the Sanhedrin; and this was also the case, with the 
criminal law, excepting that death sentences required the confirmation of the pro- 
curator. The Jewish worship was tolerated; great deference was paid to the religious 
opinions and prejudices of the Jews; the worship of the emperor was never enforced; 
and the copper coins struck by the procurators bore only the name of the emperor and 
inoffensive emblems. The Christians were regarded originally by the Roman officials 
as a Jewish sect, and, to a certain extent, they benefited by the freedom granted to the 
Jewish religion. Until the reign of Nero their persecutors were the Jews, and not the 
Romans. At Jerusalem one of the results of the Roman policy was to throw great 
power into the hands of the Sadducees or higher clergy, at the head of whom was the 
high-priestly family of Ananus. This power was often abused, and when, as in the 
reign of Caligula, the administrative services were demoralised, it was used to persecute 
the Christians. It was apparently at such a period that Stephen was martyred (A.D. 
37 or 38), and that persecution drove many Christians from Jerusalem. 

"In A.D. 41, Herod Agrippa was appointed by the Emperor Claudius king of the 
territory over which Herod the Great had reigned, and the force of auxiliaries was trans- 



History of Jerusalem 



35 



ferred to him. Herod, who observed the Jewish religion strictly, and endeavored in 
everv way to conciliate the Jews, was naturally hostile to the Christians; but it was 
onlv towards the close of his reign that he became a violent persecutor. Early in A.D. 
44 he killed James, the son of Zebedee, with the sword, and imprisoned Peter. Shortly 
afterwards he died at Caesarea. During his reign the third or outer wall of defense 
was commenced. Its course is not certainly known, but there can be no doubt that 
the traditional sites of Golgotha and the Tomb were enclosed by it. 

"On the death of Herod the government was resumed by Rome, and Cuspius 
Fadus was appointed procurator. He was followed by a succession of governors whose 
mal -administration and cruelty gave rise to the disorders and popular tumults that 
culminated in the war with Rome and the destruction of Jerusalem. The Christians, no 
doubt, suffered as much as the Jews from the brutality of the governors, but Christian- 
ity played no part in the disturbances. During one period of anarchy, between the 
death of Festus (A.D. 61) and the arrival of Albinus (A.D. 62), when the high priest 
Ananus was in power, James the brother of the Lord, and the head of the Jerusalem 
Church, was possibly killed. The war broke out in A. D. 66, and during its progress, 
some time before the commencement of the siege of Jerusalem (April, A. D. 70), the 
Christians fled to Pella, a city of Decapolis with a mixed population in which the Greek 
element preponderated. Only 35 years had elapsed since the Crucifixion, and it seems 
certain that several of the refugees, and possibly every Christian of mature age, knew 
the positions of Golgotha and the Tomb. 

"Whilst the Christians were at Pella, Jerusalem was taken by Titus (August, A.D. 
70) , who is said to have ordered its complete destruction, with the exception of the three 
great towers connected with Herod's palace and a portion of the west wall. How far 
this order was carried out is uncertain. Josephus writes as if all the walls and houses, 
with the exception mentioned, were razed to the ground; but Eusebius is perhaps nearer 
the truth when he states that only half the city was destroyed. Those portions of 
Jerusalem which lay north of the first wall, and those which lay on Mount Moriah and in 
the Tyropceon Valley, were the scene of much street fighting, and must have been 
practically destroyed during the progress of the siege. But the 'Upper City,' on the 
western spur, was not carried by assault. The Jews were seized with a panic when a 
breach was made in the west wall, near Herod's palace, and fled from the wall and 
from the towers. The Romans entered without striking a blow, and though the place 
was sacked and fired by the soldiers, many houses must have remained intact. The 
military requirements of the Roman garrison necessitated some demolition ; but there 
is no evidence that a plough was passed over the ruins, or that Titus ever intended that 
the city should never be rebuilt. Josephus would certainly have mentioned such an 
act of exauguration if it had taken place. 

"After the capture of the capital, Judaea became an independent province, which 
was occupied by the celebrated Tenth Legion, Fretensis, and a body of 'auxiliary 
troops of foreign origin, drawn in part from the farthest lands of the west.' The prov- 
ince was retained by Vespasian as a private possession, and its revenue was paid to his 
privy purse; but lands in the vicinity of Jerusalem were granted to the Tenth Legion. 
The commander of the legion who was usually of praetorian rank, was also the governor 
of the province, and resided, as the procurators had done, at Caesarea. The legion, 
or the bulk of it, was quartered in the Upper City and until the reign of Hadrian 
Jerusalem was neither a colony nor a municipium, but a Roman legionary fortress or 
camp, with no power to strike coins. During this period (A. D. 70-132) there was no 



36 



History of Jerusalem 



attempt at reconstruction, and no large buildings were erected. Beyond the levelled 
ground in the immediate vicinity of the 'Camp' the walls of the fortifications, of the 
palaces, and of the houses lay as they had been left by Titus. A few heaps of ruins 
may have become overgrown with rank vegetation; but there was nothing to prevent a 
person who had known the city before the siege from recognising any particular spot 
or street within the walls. The physical features underwent no change; but here and 
there they may have been concealed by the debris of the city. 

"The 'Camp', or legionary fortress, was protected on the north and west by Herod's 
towers and portions of the first wall; but of its limits on the south and east, and of its 
defenses on those sides, nothing is known with certainty. The garrison must have 
consisted at first of the whole or of the greater part of the Tenth Legion, with a due 
proportion of auxiliaries, forming together a force of about 6,000 or 7,000 men. 
By the side of this force, but living apart from it in separate quarters 
(canabce), there must have been a large miscellaneous population, possibly 
amounting to 2,000 or 3,000, which consisted of camp followers, merchants, small 
traders and others who were attracted by the presence of a large permanent garrison. 
The total military and civil population a few years after the siege would thus be from 
8,000 to 10,000. The quarter of the city inhabited by the latter is unknown; but it was 
probably the region of the bazars and that part of the 'Upper City' which was not 
occupied by the legionary fortress — a broad space being left between the fortifications 
of the 'Camp' and the nearest houses. After the complete suppression of the rebel- 
lion the Jews were not unkindly treated, possibly owing to the fact that Judaea had 
become Imperial property and to the relations between Titus and Berenike. No 
attempt was made to interfere with the great Rabbinical school at Jamnia; and no 
edict was issued forbidding Jews to visit or reside in Jerusalem. According to Basnage, 
families of the tribes of Judah and Benjamin were left in Jerusalem, and settled there 
to serve the Roman garrison. In all probability those poverty-stricken Jews who had 
not been deported or sold by Titus, and those who had not compromised themselves 
by taking part in the war, were allowed to dwell in the unoccupied parts of the city. 
And here, too, amidst soldiers and civilians drawn from all parts of the known world, 
the Christians may have settled down on their return from Pella, making many con- 
verts and worshipping in a small building which in happier times was to become the 
'Mother Church of Sion,' the 'mother of all the churches.' 

"In the 'Camp' itself, so long as it remained a legionary fortress, there would have 
been no church, synagogue, or temple. The fact of the return from Pella is undoubted, 
the date is unknown. Dr. Robinson, following Munter, places it after the suppression 
of the revolt in Hadrian's reign, and the foundation of ^Elia. Renan considers it most 
probable that part of the church returned after the complete pacification of Judaea 
(circa A.D. 73), but that the date may possibly have been as late as A.D. 122, when, 
aco rding to him, Hadrian decided to rebuild Jerusalem as Mlia. The earlier 
date would seem the more probable and the more natural. There was nothing in the 
political condition of the country to prevent the return, and the Christians would hardly 
have neglected such a favorable field for missionary enterprise as that presented by the 
camp and its entourage. An early return may perhaps be inferred from the statement 
of Eusebius with regard to the election of Simeon, second Bishop of Jerusalem, in suc- 
cession to James. Assuming that a small Christian community, with Simeon as Bishop, 
settled down amidst the ruins of the city about A.D. 72-75, the absence would have 
been at most seven years — a period far too short to blot out all remembrance of the 



History of Jerusalem 



37 



positions of Golgotha and the Tomb. Even supposing that the Jerusalem Church 
did not exist, as a body, until A. D. 122, it is impossible to believe that the city was 
never visited between A.D. 72 and A.D. 122 by individual Christians who were well 
acquainted with the holy places, , and fully capable, had they so wished, of imparting 
their knowledge to others, and so perpetuating the tradition. The quotation of Euse- 
bius from Hegesippus that the 'monument' of James 'still remains by the Temple,' 
implies a knowledge of Jerusalem by the Christians after the siege. On the whole, it 
seems to be a fair conclusion that the circumstances connected with the siege and 
with the residence of the Christians at Pella were not such as would have rendered 
a continuous tradition with regard to Golgotha and the Tomb impossible, either amongst 
the Jews or the Christians. 

"After the capture of Jerusalem every Jew over 20 years of age who wished to 
retain his religion was compelled to pay to the temple of Jupiter Capitolinus at Rome 
the tax of two drachmae (half a shekel), which formerly had been paid to the Temple 
of the Lord. The annual collection of this tax, rendered intolerable by the coins bear- 
ing the head of the emperor, with which it was paid, must have kept alive a deep feeling 
of resentment amongst the Jews. Under Domitian the tax was collected with great 
harshness, and Christians of Jewish origin suffered equally with the Jews. Some allevi- 
ation, possibly in the method of collection, was granted by Nerva; but the country 
seems to have remained in an unsettled state throughout the reign of Trajan. A few 
minor outbreaks were suppressed, and order was completely restored in the first year 
of Hadrian, A.D. 117. The Jews subsequently remained quiet, waiting for an oppor- 
tunity, until A.D. 132, when they broke out in open revolt under the leadership of Bar 
Koziba (Cozeba) or Bar Kokba (Cocheba). 

"According to Dion Cassius, the cause of the rebellion was Hadrian's decision to 
rebuild Jerusalem as a heathen city, and to erect a temple of Jupiter Capitolinus on the 
site of the Jewish Temple. Spartianus, on the other hand, gives as the reason the 
issue of Hadrian's edict forbidding the practice of circumcision — an edict which applied 
to non-Jewish as well as to Jewish people. Eusebius says that the colony was estab- 
lished after the suppression of the insurrection. This statement may be reconciled 
with that of Dion Cassiusby supposing that the founding. of the colony was interrupted 
by the revolt, and dompleted after its suppression. Hadrian was a great builder and 
restorer of cities: he had seen the ruins of Jerusalem; and the restoration of the old 
capital of the Jews to its former magnificence may well have appealed to his imagina- 
tion. Possibly, too, he may have considered the foundation of a colony in a strong 
position in Judaea a wise precaution in view of the state of Jewish feeling, which must 
have been well known to him. It would seem, then, that the revolt was due to a com- 
bination of circumstances — the annual irritation produced by the collection of the 
temple tax, the edict forbidding circumcision, and the decision to rebuild Jerusalem 
as a heathen city, with its principal temple on the spot once hallowed by the Temple of 
Yahveh. 

"The insurgent Jews, animated by the belief that the Messiah had appeared in the 
person of Bar Koziba, at first carried everything before them. Jerusalem was taken, 
and 50 fortified places and 955 open towns and villages appear to have fallen into their 
hands. Coins were struck, and an attempt was made to rebuild the Temple. Little 
is known of the incidents connected with the progress of the war. Jewish tradition 
relates that the Romans fought 52 battles, not always with success. The capture of 
Jerusalem by the Jews, and its recapture by the Romans, although both seem certain, 



38 



History of Jerusalem 



are nowhere described. Tineius Rufus, the governor, and Marcellus, the governor of 
Syria, who was sent to his assistance, were unable to quell the rising; and it was not 
until the arrival of Severus from Britain, in A.D. 135, that the war was brought to a 
close by the capture of Bether (Bittir), after it had lasted three and a half years. The 
date of the recapture of Jerusalem is uncertain, but the city would appear, from the 
coins, to have been in the hands of the Jews for more than a year. The termination of 
the war left Palestine a desert, and Jerusalem a heap of rums. According to the Mishna, 
Jerusalem was levelled down with the plough; but according toMaimonides and Jerome 
the plough was only passed over the site of the Temple. The prisoners were sold at 
the annual market by the Terebinth, near Hebron, and at the Gaza market, which was 
afterwards called 'Hadrian's Mart,' or were shipped tto Egypt fbr sale. A heavy poll 
tax was imposed upon all Jews, and the laws against them were stringently enforced. 

"The position of the Church at Jerusalem, and the attitude of the governors 
towards it and towards the Judaeo-Christians, are obscure. When the Church re-formed 
round Simeon it had lost its pre-eminence. Christianity had passed beyond Judaism 
and entered a wider field; but those Christians who had carried with them to Pella 
an unabated reverence for the Law, appear to have returned unchanged. Titus, at the 
time of the siege, seems to have regarded the Christians as a Jewish sect, and at first the 
governors, probably, saw little difference and made little distinction between the 
Judaeo-Christian and the outcast Jew. Simeon and the Bishops who succeeded him 
were of the circumcision, and it was only gradually that all attempt to conform to the 
Mosaic Law was abandoned. The alienation from Judaism became complete when Bar 
Koziba was openly received as the Messiah. The Christians, wdio were eagerly expecting 
the second coming of Christ, could not listen to the claims of another (earthly) Messiah, 
and could take no part in a movement of which the Messianic character was so pro- 
nounced. They were consequently persecuted with peculiar violence by the insurg- 
ent Jews. During the period A.D. 73-135 there appears to have been no formal law 
forbidding Christianity, and no express edict ordering its suppression. Christianity 
was, however, a religio illicita ; and those who avowed themselves Christians were 
'treated like brigands caught in the act.' Under Domitian, the Christians at Jerusalem, 
especially those who had been circumcised, were no doubt harassed and persecuted; 
but they afterwards derived benefit from the milder policy of Nerva and Trajan; and 
their attitude towards the insurgent Jews must have produced a favorable impression 
upon the local governors, and relaxed their severity. The only event that needs be 
noticed is the martyrdom of Simeon, who was put to death because, as a relation of 
Christ, he was regarded as a descendant of David and one of the royal race. 

"It would appear from the above that nothing occurred prior to the rebellion that 
would render the transmission of a tradition, brought back from Pella, impossible; and 
it cannot be supposed that every Christian, whether of Jewish of Gentile descent, who 
knew the positions of Golgotha and the Tomb, perished during the revolt. Nor is it 
probable that any existing tradition was broken by the action of Hadrian. It may be 
true, as suggested by Williams, that the Emperor regarded the Jerusalem Church as an 
offshoot of the Synagogue, and that its members shared the lot of the Jews. But it is 
equally true that the Gentile Christians were not banished from ^Elia, for it had long 
been known that they were not a Jewish sect. 

"Hadrian, on the suppression of the rebellion, was able to carry out his project 
of rebuilding Jerusalem; and in A.D. 136, the year in which he celebrated his vicen- 
nalia, the new city was dedicated to Jupiter Capitolinus, and made a Roman colony 



History of Jerusalem 



39 



under the title Colonia JElia Capitolina. The size of the city is unknown, but it was 
probably surrounded by a wall which excluded the southern portion of the western 
spur, and included the traditional sites of Golgotha and the Tomb. Hadrian adorned 
the new colony with magnificent buildings, for which much of the material was obtained 
from the ruins of the Temple, palaces, etc. 

''On the site once occupied by the Temple of Yahveh the Emperor erected a 
temple of Jupiter Capitolinus, which appears, from Imperial coins struck at Jerusalem, 
to have been similar in plan and arrangement to the temple of Jupiter Capitolinus at 
Rome, as restored by Domitian. There were three cellae, and of these 
the central one was occupied by a statue of Jupiter, who was regarded as 
the guardian deity of the city. In the cellas to the right and left were statues of Juno 
and Minerva; and there were also, in the temple precincts, statues of the founder of 
the city. Amongst other buildings attributed to Hadrian are the two Demosia, the 
theatre, the Trikameron, the Tetranymphon, the Dodekapvlon. formerlv called Ana- 
bathmoi (the 'steps'), and the Kodra. On the gate which led to Bethlehem was 
sculptured a boar, the fifth in rank of the signa militaria of the Roman armv, and 
probably connected with the Tenth Legion, which had long been quartered in the 
adjoining camp. 

"The constitution of JElia was that of a Roman colony: and the city was divided 
into seven quarters, each having its headman. Jews were excluded bv stringent laws. 
They were forbidden to enter under pain of death. Guards were stationed to prevent 
their entrance, and they were not allowed' even to gaze upon the city from a distant 
height. Pagans and Christians alone were allowed to reside in the city, and the mag- 
nificence of the colony was of an essentially pagan character. The chief religious 
worship was that of Jupiter Capitolinus. But Bacchus, Serapis, Venus, or Astarte, 
the Dioscuri, and the local Tyche, or city goddess, are represented on the coins of the 
city, and a temple may have been dedicated to one or more of these deities by Hadrian 
or some later emperor. On the ground now occupied by the Church of the Holy Sepul- 
chre stood one such temple, with regard to which there appear to have been two dis- 
tinct traditions — one Greek, the other Latin. The first is that unknown persons 
erected a temple of Aphrodite above the tomb of Christ; the second that Hadrian set 
up (whether in a temple or not is not directly stated) a statue of Venus on the spot 
where Christ suffered, and a statue of Jupiter above the Tomb. 

''The Greek tradition is in general agreement with the statement of Eusebius 
(A.D. 260-339) — the only writer on the subject who could have seen the Temple before 
it was demolished to make room for Constantine's churches. In his Life of Constantine 
Eusebius says that certain ungodly and impious persons covered up the Tomb and built 
on a paved floor above it. 'a gloomy shrine' to Aphrodite, thinking that they would 
thereby conceal the truth. Sozomen (A.D. 375-450) states that the Tomb and Gol- 
gotha were covered up by pagans who had formerly persecuted the Church, and that 
the whole place was enclosed by a wall and paved. The Pagans erected a temple 
to Aphrodite,and set up 'a little image", so that those who went to worship Christ 
would appear to bow the knee to Aphrodite. Socrates (A.D. 379) relates that those 
who hated Christianity covered the tomb with earth, on which they built a temple of 
Aphrodite with her image. In the later traditions of Alexander Monachus. who wrote 
in the sixth century, the holy places were covered up by the Jews, and the temple and 
statue of Aphrodite were the work of idolaters of later date. 



40 



History of Jerusalem 



"The Latin tradition rests upon the authority of writers who, although some of 
them may have conversed with old men who had seen the temple when young, had 
no personal knowledge of the 'holy places' before their isolation from the surrounding 
rock by Constantine's architect. So far, then, as they contradict Eusebius, they can 
not be given the preference. Rufinus (A.D. 345-410), who does not mention a temple, 
says that an image of Venus had been set up by the ancient persecutors on the spot 
where Christ had hung upon the Cross, so that if any Christian came to worship Christ, 
he might appear to be worshipping Venus. Jerome (A.D. 346-420) writes, circa 395, 
that from the time of Hadrian to the reign of Constantine there stood a statue of 
Jupiter in the place of the Resurrection, and one of Venus, in marble, on the rock of 
the cross, which was worshipped by the people. 'The instigators of the persecution 
thought that they would take away our faith in the Resurrection and the Cross if they 
defiled the holy places with idols.' Paulinus of Nola (A.D. 353-431), writing to Sev- 
erus, says that Hadrian, 'imagining that he could kill the Christian faith by defacing 
the place, consecrated an image of Jupiter on the site of the Passion.' Sulpicius Sev- 
«erus (A. D. 363-420) states that images of demons were set up both 'in the temple and 
in the place where the Lord suffered.' Ambrose (A.D. 340-397) says, in a doubtful 
passage, that Christ suffered in the Venerarium (i. e., the place where the statue of 
Venus was set up). 

"The conflicting statements of the Greek and Latin writers may, perhaps, be 
reconciled by supposing that during the early part of Constantine's reign the tradi- 
tional sites of Golgotha and the Tomb were covered and hidden from view by an artificial 
platform, upon which, immediately above the Tomb, stood a temple of Venus (Aphro- 
dite) containing statues of that goddess and of Jupiter (Zeus). That in the latter 
part of the reign, Constantine's architect, who cut away the rock to obtain a level plat- 
form for the churches, left the two 'holy places' standing up from the floor as separate 
masses of limestone. And that in after years, when the size and internal arrangement 
of the temple, had been forgotten, this isolation gave rise to the theory that each holy 
place had been intentionally defiled by the erection upon it of an image of a heathen 
deity. It may, perhaps, be inferred, from the discrepancy between Jerome and Paul- 
inus with regard to the statue on the rock of the Cross, that there was no very definite 
tradition when they wrote. 

"The statements respecting the origin of the temple cannot be reconciled. The 
expressions 'gloomy shrine' and 'impious persons,' used by Eusebius, convey the 
impression that he is describing a small temple, and not a building erected by Imperial 
command. When Eusebius wrote, no one would have ventured to call one of the 
emperors an impious person. On the other hand, the statement that the material for 
the substructures was obtained from some place outside the city, and that the shrine 
stood on a paved platform, does not support the view that the building was insig- 
nificant. Hadrian, whose name is mentioned in connection with the 'holy places' 
by no Greek writer, is first introduced by Jerome and Paulinus, who wrote sixty to 
seventy years after the temple had been demolished. There is no proof that he built 
the temple of Venus; that he erected any temple at a place known in his time as Gol- 
gotha; or that he intended to build one above the tomb of Christ. It is very unlikely 
that Hadrian, who had confirmed and extended Trajan's policy of leniency towards the 
Christians, and who must have known how they had been persecuted by the Jews for 
not taking part in the revolt, would have intentionally insulted them by building a 
temple above the Tomb, or by setting up statues above the Tomb and on the site of 



Testimony of Etjsebius 



41 



the Passion. On the other hand, it would be not altogether unlike the ironical spirit 
of the Emperor to extend contemptuous toleration to those he considered wretched 
fanatics, and at the same time to cover up their holy places as a sort of sarcastic jest. 
It must also be remembered that Hadrian zealously patronised the Grseco-Roman 
religious rites; and that in erecting temples in the Oriental provinces of the empire, 
his purpose was that they should act as constant reminders of the cult of Rome, and 
of the connection between the provinces and the metropolis. The Emperor built the 
great temple of Venus at the capital, and temples of Venus at other places; and it is 
not unreasonable to suppose that he built one at Jerusalem in addition to the temple of 
Jupiter Capitolinus. The discovery of a fragment of an inscription in two lines, in 
the Russian property at the East end of the present Church of the Holy Sepulchre, 
perhaps lends some support to this view. 

"The inscription has been attributed to Hadrian, and may have been connected 
with the temple. If he did build a temple of Venus, the probability is that the selection 
of the Tomb as its site was not intentional. The theory that because a temple of 
Jupiter was built on the site of the Temple of the Jews, the site covered by the temple 
of Venus must have been a spot which the Christians held to be sacred, is unsound. 

"All authorities concur in the opinion that the defilement of the 'holy places' was 
intentional; and admitting, for the sake of argument, that the positions of Golgotha 
and the Tomb were known to Christians, Jews, and Pagans, it is quite conceivable 
that an attempt was made to cover them up and defile them during some period of 
persecution. If this was the case, the defilement was probably a spontaneous act on 
the part of the local authorities, andnotdue to an imperial rescript. A possible explan- 
ation is that some of the squatters who occupied the region of the bazars after the 
capture of the city by Titus, erected a small shrine dedicated to Astarte above the 
Sepulchre, which was recognized afterwards as the tomb of Christ, and that Hadrian 
replaced the shrine by a temple dedicated to A'enus." 

The great argument for the authenticity of the present sites of Calvary and the 
Holy Sepulchre is the testimony of Eusebius in the Life of Constantine, Bk. III. 25-37. 

"After these things (the emperor) beloved of God undertook another memorable 
work in the province of Palestine. What, then, was thisr It seemed to him to be a 
duty to make conspicuous, and an object of veneration to all, the most blessed place 
of the Saviour's resurrection in Jerusalem. And so forthwith he gave orders for the 
building of a house of prayer, not having hit upon this project without the aid of God, 
but having been impelled to it in his spirit by the Saviour Himself. 

""For ungodly men (or, rather, the whole race of demons by their means) set them- 
selves to consign to darkness and oblivion that divine monument of immortalitv at 
which the angel who came down from heaven, radiant with light, rolled away the stone 
for those who were stony in heart, and supposed that the Living One was yet with the 
dead; bringing good tidings to the women, and removing the stone of unbelief from 
their understanding, thus convincing them of the life of Him whom they sought. This 
cave of salvation did certain ungodly and impious persons determine to hide from the 
eyes of men, foolishly imagining that they would in some such way as this conceal the 
truth. Having expended much labor in bringing in earth from outside, the}- cover up 
the whole place; and then having raised this to a certain height, and having paved it 
with stone, they entirely conceal the Divine cave beneath a great mound. Next, as 
if nothing further were left for them to do, they prepare above ground a dreadful thing, 
a veritable sepulchre of souls, building to the impure demon, called Aphrodite, a dark 



42 Testimony of Eusebius 

shrine of lifeless idols, and offering their foul oblations on profane and accursed altars. 
For in this way only, and in no other fashion, did they suppose that they would accom- 
plish their purpose, even by concealing the cave of salvation by means of these detest- 
able abominations. For the wretched men were not able to understand that it was 
not possible that He who had gained the prize of the victor over death should leave His 
glorious achievement in obscurity, any more than it is possible that the sun which 
shines over the earth, and runs its accustomed course in the heavens, should escape 
the notice of the whole race of men. In a far higher degree was that power of salvation, 
which illumines the souls, and not merely the bodies of men, filling the whole world 
with its own rays of light. But be that as it may, the machinations of ungodly and 
impious men against the truth continued for a long time ; no one of the governors, of the 
prastors, or even of the emperors, was found capable of abolishing these daring impie- 
ties, save only that one who was dear to God the Ruler of all. He, being inspired, by 
the Divine Spirit, could not bear to see the place we have been speaking of concealed 
through the artifices of adversaries by all kinds of impurities, and consigned to oblivion 
and neglect, nor did he yield to the malice of those who had brought this about; but 
calling upon God to help him, he gave orders that the place should be purified, counting 
it especially fitting that a spot which had been polluted by his enemies should enjoy 
the mighty working of the All-good at his hands. And as soon as his orders were given, 
the contrivances of deceit were cast down from on high to the ground, and the dwelling 
places of error, images, and demons and all, were overthrown and utterly destroyed. 

"Nor did his zeal stop here. The emperor further gave directions that the material 
of that which was destroyed, both wood and stone, should be removed and thrown as 
far from the spot as possible, which was done in accordance with his command. But 
only to go thus far did not satisfy him. Again, being inspired with holy zeal, he issued 
orders that, having dug up the soil to a considerable depth, they should transport to a 
far distant spot the actual ground, earth and all, inasmuch as it had been polluted by 
the defilements of demon worship. 

"This also was accomplished without delay. And as one layer after another 
was laid bare, the place which was beneath the earth appeared; then forthwith, con- 
trary to all expectation, did the venerable and hallowed monument of our Saviour's 
resurrection become visible, and the most holy cave received what was an exact emblem 
of His coming to life. For after its descent into darkness it again came forth into light, 
and afforded to those who came to see a clear insight into the history of the wonders 
which had there been wrought, testifying to the resurrection of the Saviour by deeds 
more eloquent than any voice could be. 

"These things being so done, forthwith the emperor, by the injunction of pious 
edicts, accompanied by the abundant supply of all things needful, gave orders that a 
house of prayer worthy of God should be erected round about the cave of salvation 
on a scale of rich and imperial costliness. This project he had had for some time in 
view, and had foreseen, as if by superior intelligence, what was going to happen. To 
the governors of the provinces in the East (he gave instructions) that with liberal and 
abundant grants they should make the work exceeding large, great and costly; but to 
the bishop who at that time presided over the Church in Jerusalem he sent the follow- 
ing letter, in which he set forth the saving doctrine of the faith in clear language, writing 
thus : 

"So great is the grace of our Saviour that no power of language seems worthy to 
describe the present wonder. For that the token of that most holy passion, long ago 



Testimony of Eusebitjs 43 

buried, under ground, should have remained unknown for so many cycles of years, 
until it should shine forth to His servants now set free through the removal of him who 
was the common enemy of all. truly transcends all marvel. For if all who are reputed 
wise throughout all the world were to come together to one place and try to say some- 
thing worthy of this event, they would not be able to match themselves against such 
a work in the smallest degree; for the nature of this wonder as far transcends all capa- 
citv of man's reason as divine things surpass in permanence those which are human. 
Wherefore this is always my first and only object, that as the faithfulness of the truth 
displays itself daily by fresh wonders, so the souls of us all may become more zealous 
for the holy law in all sobriety and earnestness with concord. I desire, then, that you 
should especially be convinced of this (which, indeed, I suppose is plain to everyone), 
that of all things it is most my care how we may adorn with splendor of buildings that 
sacred spot which, under divine direction, I relieve as it were from an incumbent load, 
even from the disgraceful adjunct of an idol, a place holy indeed from the beginning 
in God's judgment, but which has been made to appear still more holv since it brought 
to light the assurance of the Saviour's passion. 

"'It is therefore fitting that your sagacity do so order and make provision for ever} 7 
thing necessary, that not only shall this basilica be the finest in the world, but that the 
details also shall be such that all the fairest structures in every city may be surpassed 
by it. Conce rning the building and beautifying of the walls, know that mv intention 
has been entrusted to my friend- Dracihanus, deputy of the praetorian prefects, and to 
the governor of the province. For by my piety has it been commanded them that 
artificers and wor km en and all things which they may leam from your sagacity to be 
necessary for the building shall be furnished by their provision. Concerning the 
columns and marbles, whatever you shall judge after the plan has been inspected 
to be most precious and most serviceable, be careful to inform us in writing; that those 
things of whatever sort, and in whatever quantity, which we learn from your letter 
to be needful, may be procured from every quarter. For it is just that the place which 
is more wonderful than the whole world should be worthily decorated. 

" "As to the roof of the basilica, I wish to know from you whether vou think it 
should have a panelled ceiling or be finished in any other fashion. If it be panelled, 
it may also be ornamented with gold. It remains for your holiness to make it known 
to the aforesaid magistrates with all speed how many workmen and artificers, and what 
expenditure oi monei. is neediul; and vou will also be careiul to report forthwith to me. 
not only concer nin g the marbles and the columns, but also concerning the panelled 
ceiling if you should judge this the more beautiful. 

"'God guard you, beloved brother"' 

"These things did the e m peror write, and his instructions were at once carried 
into effect. So on the monument of salvation itself was the new Jerusalem built, over 
against the one so famous of old, which, after the pollution caused by the murder of the 
Lord, experienced the last extremity of desolation, and paid the penalty for the crime of 
its impious inhabitants. Opposite this the emperor reared, with rich and lavish 
expenditure, the trophy of the Saviour's victory over death. Perhaps this was that 
strange and new Jerusalem, proclaimed in the oracles of the prophets, to which long 
passages prophesying by the aid of the divine spirit make countless allusions in song. 
And, first of all, he adorned the sacred cave, which was, as it were, the chief part of the 
whole work, that divine monu m ent at which once an angel, radiant with light, pro- 
claimed to all the good news of regeneration manifested through the Saviour. 



44 



Church of the Holy Sepulchre 



"This first, as the chief part of the whole, the liberality of the emperor beautified 
with choice columns and with much ornament, decorating it with all kinds of adorn- 
ments. 

"Next, one crossed over to a very large space of ground, to wit, the atrium, open 
to the pure air of heaven ; the floor of which a polished stone pavement adorned, 
bounded by long porticos which ran round continuously on three sides. 

"For adjoining the site opposite the cave, which looked towards the rising sun, the 
basilica was erected, an extraordinary work, reared to an immense height, and of great 
extent both in length and breadth. Slabs of variegated marble lined the inside of the 
building, and the appearance of the walls outside exhibited a spectacle of surpassing 






W> V. fs 




ARAB HORSE 

beauty, no whit inferior to the appearance of marble, shining brightly with polished 
stones fitting exactly into each other. With regard to the roof, a covering of lead 
fortified it all round outside, a sure protection against the rains of winter; but the inside 
was finished with carvings of panel work, and, like a great sea, extended over the whole 
basilica in a series of connected compartments; and being overlaid throughout with 
radiant gold, it made the whole temple as it were to glitter with rays of light. 

"And at each side of the two porticos, with upper and lower ranges, twin colon- 
nades extended the whole length of the temple, these also having their ceilings orna- 



The Pilgrim of Bordeaux 



45 



mented with gold. Of these the colonnades towards the front of the building were 
supported by columns of very vast size, but the inner rows rested on piers; the orna- 
mentation of these piers on the surface was very great. Three gates facing the rising 
sun were to admit the entering crowd." 

We are nowise aided in our historical quest by the testimonies of the early pilgrims 
who visited Jerusalem. The Christians of early times paid small heed to scientific 
research. The pilgrims came to Jerusalem prepared to believe everything, and they 
did believe everything. The earliest is the Bordeaux Pilgrim in 333. The identity of 
this pilgrim is unknown. He was certainly a Christian who traveled overland from 
Bordeaux to Constantinople; thence down through Asia Minor, and down through 
Syria to Jerusalem. Thus he speaks of the Holy Sepulchre: 




ENCAMPMENT IX THE DESERT 



••From thence as you go out of the wall of Sion. as you walk towards the gate of 
Xeapolis, towards the right, below in the valley, are walls, where was the house or prae- 
torium of Pontius Pilate. Here our Lord was tried before His passion. On the left 
hand is the little hill of Golgotha where the Lord was crucified. About a stone's throw 
from thence is a vault (crypta) wherein His body was laid, and rose again on the third 
day. There, at present, by the command of the Emperor Constantine, has been built 
a basilica, that is to say a church of wondrous beauty, having at the side reservoirs 
(exceptoria) from which water is raised, and a bath behind, in which infants are washed 
(baptized). 



46 



Pilgrimage of St. Silvia 



Also as one goes from Jerusalem to the gate which is to the eastward, in order to 
ascend the Mount of Olives, is the valley called that of Josaphat. Towards the left, 
where are vineyards, is a stone at the place where Judas Iscariot betrayed Christ; on 
the right is a palm tree, branches of which the children carried off and strewed in the 
way when Christ came. Not far from thence, about a stone's-throw, are two notable 
(monubiles) tombs of wondrous beauty; in the one, which is atrue monolith, lies Isaiah 
the prophet, and in the other Hezekiah, King of the Jews." 

The credulity of this writer appears from many evidences. He saw in the temple 
the crypt in which Solomon used to torture devils. He saw the chamber in the temple 
where Solomon wrote the Book of Wisdom. He saw on the temple pavement the marks 
of the nails of the soldiers who slew Zacharias. He transfers the Transfiguration from 
the north of Palestine to the Mount of Olives, declaring: 

"From thence you ascend to the Mount of Olives, where before the Passion, the 
Lord taught His disciples. There by the orders of Constantine a basilica of wondrous 
beauty has been built. Not far from thence is the little hill which the Lord ascended 
to pray, when he took Peter and John with Him, and Moses and Elias were beheld." 

It is evident that such a testimony has no critical worth. 

In 1883, Sig. C. F. Gamurrini of Arezzo in Tuscany discovered a MS. which con- 
tained among other things the account of a journey of a female pilgrim to the Holy 
Land. From internal evidence it is quite probable that the pilgrimage took place 
between 379 and 388. It is also probable that the pilgrim came from Gaul. She was a 
person of considerable importance: she was courteously received wherever she went; 
had interviews with the bishops and higher clergy of all the holy places. She had a 
guard of soldiers, when proceeding from Sinai to Egypt. Her identity can not be 
known with certainty. Kohler believes her to be Galla Placidia, daughter of Theo- 
dosius the Great. Gamurrini more plausibly suggests that she was Saint Silvia of 
Aquitania, a sister of Rufinus, prefect of the East under Theodosius, of whose journey 
to the East Palladius speaks in his Historia Lausiaca. This theory has been quite 
generally adopted. It is not shaken by the fact that the pilgrim does not manifest 
the severe asceticism of St. Silvia. Traveling in such a country she could well dis- 
pense herself from some of her ordinary mortification. Of this St. Silvia Palladius nar- 
rates this declaration : 

"I am now sixty years of age ; but except the tips of my fingers (and that for the pur- 
pose of communicating) no water has ever touched my face, or my feet, or any of my 
limbs. Even when, being seized with various diseases, I was urged by the physicians 
to take a bath, I could not endure to give the flesh its due. I have never slept on a 
couch or traveled anywhere in a litter." 

This pilgrim is more intent on describing the ceremonies performed in the Holy 
Places, than the location of the places, of which she has no doubt. She speaks thus of 
the church in Golgotha: 

"But with the dawn, because it is the Lord's day, they proceed to the Great Church 
built by Constantine, which is in Golgotha behind the Cross; and all things are done 
according to the use which is customary everywhere on the Lord's day. For their use 
is this, that as many as wish of all the priests who sit there shall preach, and after them 
the bishop preaches; these sermons are always delivered or. the Lord's day, that 
the people may always be instructed in the Scriptures and in the love of God. And 
while these sermons are being delivered, there is a long interval before they are dis- 



The Epitome of the Pseudo Eucherius 



17 



missed from the Church. They are thus (not) dismissed before the fourth, or perhaps 
the fifth, hour. But when the dismissal has been given at the Church, in accordance 
with the use which everywhere prevails, then the monks escort the bishop with hymns 
from the Church to the Anastasis. And when the bishop begins to come with hymns, 
all the doors of the Anastasis Basilica are opened; and all the people enter (that is, 
the faithful, for the catechumens enter not). And when the people have entered, the 
bishop enters and forthwith proceeds within the rails of the memorial cave. First, 




ARMENIAN PRIESTS 



thanks are given to God, and prayer is made for all men; next the deacon calls to all to 
bow their heads where they stand, and the bishop blesses them standing inside the 
inner rails; and finally he comes out." 

The Epitome of the pseudo Eucherius, probably about the year 440 has the fol- 
lowing : 

Jerusalem is called ^Elia from ^Elius Hadrianus; for, after its destruction by Titus, 
it received the name together with the works of its founder, ^Elius. The place, they 



48 



The " Breviary ' 



say, is naturally lofty, so that one has to ascend to it from every side; it rises by a long 
yet gentle slope. The site of the city itself is almost circular, enclosed within a circuit 
of walls of no small extent, whereby it now receives within itself Mount Sion, which 
was once outside, and which, lying on the south side, overhangs the city like a citadel. 
The greater part of the city stands on the level ground of the lower hill below the mount. 

Mount Zion on one side, that which faces north, is set apart for the dwellings of 
priests and monks; the level ground on its summit is covered by the cells of monks 
surrounding a church, which, it is said, was built there by the apostles out of reverence 
for the place of our Lord's Resurrection; because, as promised before by the Lord, they 
were filled with the Holy Ghost. 

The most frequented gates (of the city) are three in number; one on the west, 
another on the east, and the third on the north side of the city. 

First, about the Holy Places. 

In consequence of the direction of the streets, one must visit the basilica, which is 
called the "Martyrium" (Church of the Testimony), built by Constantine with great 
splendor. Adjacent to this, upon the west side, are to be seen Golgotha and the 
"Anastasis" (Church of the Resurrection). Now, the "Anastasis" is at the place of 
the Resurrection, and Golgotha, which is between the "Anastasis" and the "Mar- 
tyrium," is the place of the Lord's Passion, wherein may be seen the very rock which 
once supported the cross itself on which the Lord's body hung. These things are to 
be seen beyond Mount Zion, where there is a slight swell in the ground which slopes 
away towards the north." 

The "Epitome" gives an accurate description of the topographical features of 
Jerusalem, and indicates very plainly the relative positions of Mount Zion, the churches 
of Constantine, and the Temple. It thus effectually disposes of the theory that the 
' Dome of the Rock," in the Haram area, was erected by Constantine over the tomb 
of Christ. We also learn from it that Mount Zion was within the walls of the city, 
that its northern face was "set apart for dwellings of priests and monks," and that its 
summit was occupied by a church, apparently the Basilica of St. Sion, and the cells of 
monks. 

The "Breviary," of probable date about 530, has this testimony: 
The city itself is placed upon a hill. 

"In the midst of the city is the basilica of Constantine. At the entrance to the 
basilica, and on the left hand, is a chamber wherein the Cross of our Lord is kept. 
Beyond this, as one enters the church of the Holy Constantine, there is a large apse, 
on the western side, wherein the three crosses were found. There is there a raised 
altar made of pure silver and gold, and nine columns which support that altar. The 
apse itself (has) twelve marble columns round about it, and, (what is) altogether incred- 
ible, (there are) twelve urns of silver on the tops of these columns. And in the midst 
of the city stands that basilica in which is the spear with which our Lord was pierced, 
and of it a cross has been made, and it shines in the night as does the sun in the heat 
of the day. 

And from hence you enter into Golgotha. There is here a large hall, on the place 
where our Lord was crucified. Round about it, on the hill itself are railings of silver, 
and on the hill itself a kind of flint stone is deserving of notice. It has a silver door, 
at which the Cross of our Lord is displayed all covered with ornaments of gold and 
jewels, with the open sky above it; there are railings much adorned with gold and 
silver, and here also is the charger wherein the head of St. John was carried; and 



The " Breviary " 49 

here is the horn with which David and Solomon were anointed; and in this place 
too, is the ring with which Solomon sealed his writings, which ring is of amber. Here 
Adam was formed out of clay; here Abraham offered his own son Isaac in the very 
place where our Lord Jesus Christ was crucified. 




GREEK PRIESTS 

Beyond this, to the west, you enter the (church of the) Holy Resurrection, wherein 
is the sepulchre of our Lord, before which is the (well known) stone, a kind of flint-stone. 
Above it is a church built in a round form. Above the sepulchre itself is a cornice of 
gold and silver, and it is of gold all round. 

Before the sepulchre is an altar at the place where the holy Zacharias was slain 
and where his dried blood may still be seen. 

Next comes the sanctuary of the basilica of the Holy Constantine, where there is a 
chamber in which is the reed, and the sponge, and the cup which the Lord blessed and 
gave to His disciples to drink, saying: "This is My body and My blood." 



50 



The " Breviary 



Thence you go to the basilica where Jesus found men buying and selling, and cast 
out the (seats of them who sold) doves. 

Thence you go to a very great basilica on the holy Sion, whereon is the column 
at which the Lord Jesus was scourged. One may see there the print of His hands 
as he held it, marked as deep as though the stone were wax. Thence you come to the 
place of sacrifice, where is the stone with which Saint Stephen was stoned. In the 
midst of this church is the crown of thorns which Jesus received. And there is the 
lamp (by the light of which) He taught His disciples after He had supped. There is 
the rod (with which He was scourged) enclosed within a column of silver." 

Theodosius an unknown author of the first half of the sixth century speaks as fol- 
lows: 

The city of Jerusalem has six main gates, besides posterns. There is the gate of 
Benjamin on the road to the Jordan; it is distant 18 miles from Jericho, and from 
thence to the Jordan is seven miles more. From Jericho to Gilgal is one mile. There 
is the Field of the Lord, where the Lord Jesus Christ ploughed one furrow with His 
own hand. And there are the twelve stones which the children of Israel lifted out of 
the Jordan. From Jericho to the Fountain of Elisha is two miles. There was the house 
of Rahab the harlot, who took in the spies. 

Again from Jerusalem to Bethel is 12 miles. In this Bethel Jacob saw in his 
dreams the angels ascending to heaven and descending therefrom. From Bethel to 
Samaria, which is now called Neapolis, is 18 miles. There is the well which Jacob 
made. There are the bones of St. Joseph. From Samaria it is 7 miles to Sebaste, 
where St. John was beheaded. From Sebaste to Scythopolis is 30 miles. There St. 
Basil suffered martyrdom. From Scythopolis it is 24 miles to the Sea of Tiberias, 
on which the Lord Jesus Christ walked. From Tiberias to Magdala, where St. Mary 
was born, is two miles. From Magdala to the Seven Fountains, where the Lord Christ 
baptized the apostles, and where also He fed the people with five loaves and two fishes, 
is two miles. From the Seven Fountains to Capharnaum is two miles. From Caphar- 
naum it is six miles to Bethsaida, where were born the apostles Peter, Andrew, Philip, 
and the sons of Zebedee. From Bethsaida to Paneas is 50 miles. There the Jordan 
emerges from two sources, the Jor and the Dan. These run into Paneas and meet 
under the city, whence the river takes the name "Jordan." The woman, whom the 
Lord Christ relieved from the issue of blood, whose name was Marosa, was from this 
place; and in the church there is an amber statue of the Lord, made by Marosa. 
Mount Lebanon has its head there. 

From the Tower Gate it is 15 miles to the spot where David fought with Goliath 
in Mount Buzana (which is, being interpreted, "a lamp"). From Buzana it is 15 
miles to Eleutheropolis. From Eleutheropolis it is six miles to the place where St. 
Zacharias rests, and from that place to Ascalon it is 20 miles. From Ascalon to 
Gaza it is 12 miles. Between Ascalon and Gaza there are two cities, viz., Anthedon 
and Maioma. From Gaza to Rafia it is 24 miles. From Rafia it is 12 miles to Betulia, 
where Holofernes died. 

From Jerusalem it is nine miles to Shiloh, where was the ark of the covenant of 
the Lord. From Shiloh to Emmaus, now called Nicopolis, it is nine miles. In this 
Emmaus St. Cleopas knew the Lord in the breaking of bread, and there too he suffered 
martyrdom. From Emmaus it is 12 miles to Diospolis, where St. George suffered 
martyrdom; there is his body, and there many wonders are worked. From Diospolis 
it is 12 miles to Joppa, where St. Peter raised St. Tabitha; there too the whale threw up 



Antoninus the Martyr 



51 



Jonah from its belly. From Joppa it is 30 miles to the Palestinian Caesarea; there St. 
Cornelius was baptized by St. Peter, and there he suffered martyrdom. From Caesarea 
it is 30 miles to Diocsesarea. whence came Simon Magus. From Diocaesarea it is five 
miles to Cana of Galilee. It is also five miles from Diocaesarea to Nazareth. From 
Xazareth it is seven miles to Tabor, where the Lord appeared after His Resurrection 
to the apostles. 

From Jerusalem it is 16 miles to the place where St. Philip baptized the eunuch. 
Thence to the Terebinth, which is called the Oak of Mamre, it is two miles. From 
the Terebinth to the Double Cave, where the patriarchs rest, is four miles. From the 
Double Cave it is two miles to Hebron, where Holy David lived seven years, when he 
fled before Saul. 

From Jerusalem it is five miles to Ramah, where Samuel rests. From Jerusalem 
to the place where St. Elizabeth, the mother of St. John the Baptist, lived, is five miles. 
From Jerusalem to Anathoth, where Jeremiah the prophet was born and where he rests, 
is six miles. From Jerusalem it is two miles to Bethany, where the Lord Christ raised 
Lazarus. From Jerusalem to Mount Olivet it is one mile, as it is written seven fur- 
longs. From thence the Lord ascended into heaven, and there are built four and 
twenty churches. From Mount Olivet it is one mile to the village of Hermippus, 
where Abdimelech, who was a disciple of holy Jeremiah, slept under the fig tree for 
fortv-six years. There too was Baruch the prophet. 

In the city of Jerusalem at the Lord's. Sepulchre is the place of Calvary, where 
Abraham offered up his son for a burnt offering, and because the mountain is rocky, 
Abraham made the altar in the mountain itself, i. e., at its foot. Above the altar the 
mountain towers and the ascent of the mountain is made by steps. There the Lord 
was crucified. From the Lord's Sepulchre to the place of Calvary it is 15 paces; it is 
all under one roof. From the place of Calvary it is 15 paces to Golgotha, where the 
cross of the Lord was found. From Golgotha it is 200 paces to holy Sion, the mother 
of all churches', which Sion our Lord Christ founded with His apostles. It was the house 
of St. Mark, the evangelist. From holy Sion to the house of Caiphas, now the Church 
of St. Peter, it is 50 paces more or less. From the house of Caiphas to the Hall of 
Pilate it is 100 paces more or less. There is the Church of St. Sophia. Hard by 
holy Jeremiah was cast into the pit. The pillar formerly in the house of Caiphas, 
at which the Lord Christ was scourged, is now in holy Sion. This pillar, at the bid- 
ding of the Lord, followed Him; and as He clung to it while He was being scourged, 
His arms, hands, and fingers sank into it, as if it were wax, and the marks appear 
to this day. Likewise His whole countenance. His chin, nose, and eyes are imprinted 
on it as if it were wax. St. Stephen was stoned outside the Galilaean Gate; and there 
in his church, which was built by S. Eudocia, the wife of the emperor Theodosius." 

In the order of time the next pilgrim who has left records of his pilgrimage is 
Antoninus the Martyr, of whom nothing is known except that he was a priest of Pla- 
centia. His pilgrimage is placed from 560 to 570 A.D. Thus he speaks of Jerusalem: 

"Bowed to the earth and kissing the ground, we entered the holy city, through 
which we proceeded in prayer to the tomb of our Lord. The tomb itself, in which 
the Body of the Lord Jesus Christ was laid, is cut out Of the natural rock. A brazen 
lamp, which was then placed at His head, burns there day and night; from which 
lamp we received a blessing and replaced it. Into the tomb -earth is carried from 
without, and those who enter it bear away a blessing with them from it when they 
depart. The stone by which the tomb was closed lies in front of the tomb. The 



52 



Arculphus 



natural color of the rock, which was hewn out of the rock of Golgotha, cannot now be 
discerned, because the stone itself is adorned with gold and precious stones. The stone 
of the tomb is as large as a millstone; its ornaments are innumerable. From iron rods 
hang armlets, bracelets, chains, necklaces, coronets, waist bands, sword belts, and crowns 
of the emperors made of gold and precious stones, and a great number of ornaments 
given by empresses. The whole tomb, which has the appearance of the winning post on 
a race course, is covered with silver; an altar is placed in front of the tomb, under 
some golden suns. 

From the tomb to Golgotha is eighty paces. On one side it is reached by steps, 
up which our Lord ascended to be crucified. In the place where He was crucified, 
drops of blood appear upon the rock itself. At one side is the altar of Abraham, 
whither he went to offer up Isaac; there also Melchisedec offered sacrifice. Beside the 
altar is an aperture where, if you place your ear, you will hear the rushing of waters; and 
if you throw into it an apple, fruit, or anything else that will swim, and then go to the 
fountain of Siloah, you will find it again there. The distance between Siloah and Gol- 
gotha I believe to be a mile. Jerusalem has no spring water except the fountain of Siloah. 

From Golgotha to the place where the cross was discovered is 50 paces. In the 
Basilica of Constantine, which adjoins the tomb and Golgotha, in the atrium of the 
church itself, is a chamber where the wood of the holy cross is placed, which we adored 
and kissed; for I also saw, and held in my hand and kissed, the title which was placed 
over the head of Jesus, upon which is written, "Jesus of Nazareth, King of the Jews." 
This wood of the cross was of nut. When the holy cross is brought forth from its cham- 
ber into the atrium of the church to be adored, at that same hour a star appears in 
heaven, and comes above the place where the cross is placed. While the cross is being 
worshipped, the star stands above it, and oil is brought to it to be blessed in moderate 
sized flasks. At the time, however, when the wood of the cross touches these flasks, 
the oil boils up out of them, and unless they are quickly closed, it all pours out. When 
the cross is brought back to its place, the star likewise retires; and afterwards, when 
the cross is shut up, the star appears no more. There also is the sponge and the reed, 
of which mention is made in the gospel, and we drank water from the sponge. There 
is also the cup of onyx, which our Lord blessed at the last supper, and many other 
relics. Above is the painting of the Blessed Mary and her girdle, and the wrapper 
which she wore upon her head. There, too, are seven marble seats of the elders." 

About the year 670, Arculphus a bishop of Gaul visited the Holy Places of the 
East. On the way back he was shipwrecked and cast up on the west coast of Scotland. 
He was hospitably received by Adamnum, Abbot of the Monastery of Hy. Adamnum 
wrote down Arculphus' description of the Holy Places, from which we excerpt the fol- 
lowing: 

"And certainly this very great Church, the whole of which is of stone, was formed 
of marvellous roundness in every part, rising up from the foundations in three walls, 
which have one roof at a lofty elevation, having a broad pathway between each wall 
and the next; there are also three altars in three dexterously formed places of the mid- 
dle wall. This round and very large church, with the above mentioned altars, looking 
one to .the south, another to the north, a third towards the west, is supported by twelve 
stone columns of marvellous size. It has twice four gates, that is four entrances, 
through three firm])* built walls which break upon the pathways in a straight line, of 
which four means of exit look to the northeast (which is also called the'cecias' wind), 
while the other four look to the southeast. 



Arculphus 



53 



'"In the middle of the interior of this round house is a round cabin (tugurium) cut 
out in one and the same rock, in which thrice three men can pray standing; and from 
the head of a man of ordinary stature as he stands, up to the arch of that small house, a 
foot and a half is measured upwards. The entrance of this little cabin looks to the 
east, and the whole outside is covered with choice marble, while its highest point is 
adorned with gold, and supports a golden cross of no small size. In the northern part 
of this cabin is the Sepulchre of the Lord, cut out in the same rock in the inside, but the 
pavement of the cabin is lower than the place of the Sepulchre ; for from its pavement 
up to the edge of the side of the Sepulchre a measure of about three palms is reckoned. 
So Arculf, who used often to visit the Sepulchre of the Lord and measured it most 
accurately, told me. 

"Here we must refer to the difference of names between the Tomb and the Sepul- 
chre; for that round cabin which we have often mentioned, the Evangelists called by 
another name, the Tomb: they speak of the stone rolled to its mouth, and rolled back 
from its mouth, when the Lord rose. That place in the cabin is properly called the 
Sepulchre, which is in the northern side of the Tomb, in which the body of the Lord, 
when buried, rested, rolled in the linen cloths: the length of which Arculf measured 
with his own hand and found to be seven feet. Now this Sepulchre is not, as some 
think, double, having a projection left from the solid rock, parting and separating 
the two legs and the two thighs, but is wholly single, affording a bed capable of holding 
a man lying on his back from his head even to his soles. It is in the manner of a cave, 
having its opening at the side, and opposite the south part of the sepulchral chamber. 
The low roof is artificially wrought above it. 

"But it seems that this also should be noted, that the Mausoleum or Sepulchre of 
the Saviour (that is, the often mentioned cabin,) may rightly be called a Grotto or 
Cave, concerning which, that is to say, concerning our Lord Jesus Christ being buried 
in it, the prophet prophesied: 'He shall dwell in a most lofty cave of a most strong 
rock.' And a little after, to gladden the Apostles, there is inserted about the Resur- 
rection of the Lord: 'Ye shall see the King with glory.' 

"But among these things, it seems that one ought to tell briefly about the stone, 
mentioned above, which was rolled to the mouth of the Tomb of the Lord, after the 
burial of the crucified Lord slain by many men: which, Arculf relates, was broken and 
divided into two parts, the smaller of which, rough hewn with tools, is seen placed as a 
square altar in the round church, described above, before the mouth of that often 
mentioned cabin, that is, the Lord's Tomb; while the larger part of that stone, equally 
hewn around, stands fixed in the eastern part of that church at another four sided 
altar under linen cloths. 

"As to the colors of that rock, in which that often mentioned chapel was hollowed 
out by the tools of hewers, which has, in its northern side, the Sepulchre of the Lord 
cut of one and the same rock in which is also the Tomb, that is, the cabin, Arculf when 
questioned by me, said: That Cabin of the Lord's Tomb is in no way ornamented on 
the inside, and shows even to this day over all its surface the traces of the tools, which 
the hewers or excavators used in their work: the color of that rock both of the Tomb 
and of the Sepulchre is not one, but two colors seem to have been intermingled, namely 
red and white, whence also that rock appears two colored. But as to these points 
let what has been said suffice. 

"As to the buildings of the holy places, some few details must be added. The 
four sided Church of St. Mary, the mother of the Lord, is adjoined on the right side by 



54 



WlLLIBALD AND S^WULF 



that round church which has been so often mentioned above, and which is also called 
the Anastasis, that is the Resurrection, because it was built on the spot of the Lord's 
Resurrection. 

"Another very large church, looking eastwards, has been built on that place 
which, in Hebrew, is called Golgotha, high up in which a great circular chandelier of 
brass with lamps is hung by ropes, below which has been set up a great cross of silver, 
fixed in the same spot where once stood fixed the wooden Cross, on which suffered the 
Saviour of the human race. 

"In the same church a cave has been cut out in the rock below the site of the Cross 
of the Lord, where sacrifice is offered on an altar for the souls of certain specially 
honored persons whose bodies are meanwhile placed lying in a court before the gate of 
that Church of Golgotha, until the holy mysteries on their behalf are finished. 

"This four sided church, built on the site of Calvary, is adjoined on the east by 
the neighboring stone Basilica, constructed with great reverence by King Constantine, 
which is called the Martyrium, built, as is said, on that spot where the Cross of the 
Lord, which had been hidden away under the earth, was found with the other two 
crosses of the robbers, after a period of two hundred and thirty-three years, by the 
permission of the Lord Himself." 

The first English pilgrim to the Holy Land was St. Willibald afterwards bishop of 
Eichstadt, the nephew of Wynfrith, or as he is better known, St. Boniface of Germany. 
The best description of Willibald 's pilgrimage is his Hodceporicon or Guide Book, from 
which we take the following: 

"From thence they came to Jerusalem, to that place where the holy cross of our 
Lord was found. There is now a church in that spot which was called the place of 
Calvary. And this was formerly outside Jerusalem; but Helena, when she found the 
cross, arranged that place so as to be within the city Jerusalem. And there now stand 
three crosses of wood outside on the eastern wing of the church, by the wall, in memory 
of the holy cross of our Lord, and of the others who were crucified with Him. These 
are not now inside the church, but stand without, outside the church under (the eaves 
of) the roof . And along there is that garden, in which was the sepulchre of our Saviour. 
That sepulchre was cut out in the rock, and that rock stands above ground, and is square 
at the bottom and tapers up towards the top. And there stands now on the summit 
of that sepulchre a cross, and there has now been constructed over it a wonderful house, 
and on the eastern side of that rock of the sepulchre a door has been made, through 
which men enter into the sepulchre to pray. And there is a bed (lectus) inside, on 
which the body of the Lord was laid. And there stand in the bed fifteen golden bowls, 
with oil burning day and night. That bed in which the body of our Lord was laid is 
situated on the north side within the rock of the sepulchre, and is on the right side 
to a man when he goes into the sepulchre to pray. And there in front of the door of 
the sepulchre lies that great stone, squared after the likeness of the former stone which 
the angel rolled back from the door of the sepulchre." 

Very early in the twelfth century Saewulf, an unknown pilgrim visited the Holy 
Land. His account gives evidence of the growth of legends about the Holy Sepulchre : 

"The entrance of the city of Jerusalem is at the west, under the tower of King 
David, by the gate that is called the Gate of David. The Church of the Holy Sepul- 
chre, which is called the 'Martyrium,' is the first spot to be visited, not only because of 
the direction of the streets, but because it is more celebrated than all the other churches. 
And fittingly and justly so, for all things which were foretold by the holy prophets all 



S^WULF 



55 



over the world concerning our Saviour Jesus Christ were there all truly accomplished. 
The church itself, when our Lord's cross was found, was built by Maximus the Arch- 
bishop, by the aid of the Emperor Constantine and his mother Helena, royally and 
magnificently. In the middle of that church is our Lord's sepulchre, surrounded by 
a very strong wall, and covered over, lest, when it rains, the rain should fall upon the 
holy sepulchre ; for the church above it lies open without a roof. This church is situ- 
ated on the declivity of Mount Sion, as was the city itself, after the Roman princes, 
Titus and Vespasian, had, by the vengeance of the Lord, destroyed from the founda- 
tions the whole city of Jerusalem; that our Lord's prophecy might be fulfilled, which 
He uttered, when, as our Lord was drawing nigh to the city of Jerusalem, He saw the 
city, and weot over it. We know that our Lord suffered without the gate. 
But the Emperor Adrian, who was called Helias, rebuilt the city Jerusalem and 
the Temple of the Lord, and extended the city as far as the Tower of David, which 
formerly had been some distance from the city ; as anyone can see from the Mount of 
Olives, where the extreme west walls of the city formerly were, and how much the city 
was afterwards extended. The emperor called the city by his own name, ^Elia, which 
means the House of God. Some, however, say that the city was restored by the 
Emperor Justinian, and the Temple of the Lord, just as it is now; but they say this 
according to their own private opinion, and not according to truth. For the Assyrians, 
whose fathers were the settlers in that country from the first persecution, say that after 
our Lord's Passion the city was seven times captured and destroyed, together with all 
the churches, but not wholly levelled to the ground. 

"In the atrium of the Church of our Lord's Sepulchre some most holy places are 
visited. First, the prison where our Lord Jesus Christ, after His betrayal, was con- 
fined, as the Assyrians bear witness. Next, a little higher, is seen the place where the 
Holy Cross was found, together with the other crosses; and where afterwards a great 
church was built in honor of Queen Helena, but was subsequently entirely destroyed 
by the pagans. Lower down, and not far from the prison, a marble column is seen, to 
which Jesus Christ our Lord was bound in the praetorium, and beaten with most cruel 
scourges. Close by is the place where our Lord was stripped of His garments by the 
soldiers. Then there is the place where He was clothed with a purple robe by the 
soldiers, and crowned with the crown of thorns, and they parted His garments, casting 
lots. Afterwards you go up to Mount Calvary, where formerly the patriarch Abraham 
built an altar, and at the command of God was ready to sacrifice to Him his own son. 
In the same place afterwards, the Son of God, whom (Isaac) prefigured, was sacrificed 
to God the Father as the victim for the redemption of the world. The rock of that 
same mountain is a witness of our Lord's Passion, being greatly rent close to the hole 
in which the Cross of our Lord was fixed, because it could not bear without rending 
the slaying of its Creator, as we read in the Passion: 'And the rocks were rent.' 
Underneath is the place which is called Golgotha, where Adam is said to have been 
raised from the dead by the stream of our Lord's blood falling upon him, as we read 
in our Lord's Passion: 'And many bodies of the saints that slept arose.' But in the 
Sentences of St. Augustine, we read that he (Adam) was buried in Hebron, where 
afterwards the three patriarchs were buried with their wives, Abraham with Sara, 
Isaac with Rebecca, Jacob with Lia, and the bones of Joseph, which the children of 
Israel brought up with them from Egypt. Hard by the place of Calvary is the Church 
of Holy Mary, in the place where our Lord's body, taken from the cross, was anointed 
before it was buried, with the sweet spices, and wrapped in the linen cloth, or winding sheet. 



r>(> 



Arguments Against the Traditional Golgotha 



"At the head of the Church of the Holy Sepulchre, in the wall outside, not far 
from the place of Calvary, is a spot which is called Compas, where the same our Lord 
Jesus Christ Himself, with his own hand, assigned and marked out the middle of the 
world, as the Psalmist testifies: 'But God, our King before the ages, wrought salva- 
tion in the midst of the earth.' In that place also some say that our Lord Jesus Christ 
appeared first to Mary Magdalene, when she was seeking Him weeping, and thought He 
was the gardener, as the Evangelist relates. Those most sacred oratories are contained 
in the atrium of our Lord's Sepulchre at the eastern side. But at the sides of the 
church itself two most celebrated chapels cluster, one on either side, namely, in honor 
of Holy Mary and St. John, as they were themselves partakers of our Lord's Passion, 
and stood at His side, one on the right and one on the left. On the west wall of the 
same chapel of Holy Mary is to be seen a picture of the same Mother of God, painted on 
the outside, which marvellously consoled Mary of Egypt long ago, when, with her heart 
all full of compunction, she earnestly begged the aid of the same Mother of God, in whose 
image the picture was painted, speaking to her by the Holy Ghost, as is read in her life. 
On the other side of the Chapel of St. John is the most beautiful monastery of the Holy 
Trinity, wherein is a baptistery, to which is attached a chapel of St. James the Apostle, 
who was granted the first episcopal chair of Jerusalem. All these places are so arranged 
and ordered that anyone standing at the very end of the church can clearly see all 
five churches from door to door. 

"Outside the door of the Church of the Holy Sepulchre towards the south is the 
Church of Sancta Maria, which is called the Latin Church because there the service is 
always offered to the Lord in Latin; and the Assyrians say that the same Blessed Mother 
of God, at the crucifixion of her Son our Lord, stood in the very spot where the altar of 
that church is. To this church is attached another church of Sancta Maria, which is 
called Parva, where some nuns frequent who serve her and her Son most devoutly. 
And near to it is the hospital where is the celebrated monastery dedicated to the honor 
of St. John the Baptist." 

The testimony of later pilgrims add nothing of importance to the data already 
given. 

It results undoubtedly from these testimonies that the present sanctuary of the 
Holy Sepulchre is on the site of the great Basilica of Constantine. Fergusson's theory 
that the church of Constantine was on the site of the present Mosque of Omar is rejected 
by all. 

We shall now bring forth some of the arguments against the authenticity of the 
traditional Golgotha. 

The cause of the present site is not strengthened by the argument that a chain 
of tradition might have continued from the beginning down to the time of Constantine. 
Even granting such possibility, the inference can not be drawn that therefore such 
tradition was preserved. It would be the fallacy of concluding that a thing is, because 
it is possible. Had the location of Golgotha and the Tomb entered as essential elements 
in the New Testament, their memory would have been preserved. To the early Chris- 
tians the risen Lord was everything, and the Tomb nothing. It was not his proper 
tomb: it was only a provisional place of resting; and he had left it for his Kingdom in 
the Heavens, whither the eyes of Christians were bent, and not to the empty tomb of 
Joseph of Arimathsea. Hence all the writers of the New Testament are silent concern- 
ing the Tomb. St. Paul came to Jerusalem to see the Apostles, but he says naught of the 
Tomb. He brings together many proofs of the Resurrection of Jesus; but there is no 



Arguments Against the Traditional Golgotha 



57 



word of the Tomb. There is not in any writer before Constantine the Great the 
faintest evidence that the early Christians held Golgotha or the Tomb in special rever- 
ence, or that they knew where they were situated. 

No record of a pilgrimage to Jerusalem during the first three centuries by any 
Christian from the West has survived; but according to Eusebius, Melito of Sardis 
(who died about A.D. 180) visited the East, and "reached the place where the Gospel 
was proclaimed and the Gospel history was acted out;" and Alexander, a Cappadocian 
bishop who succeeded Narcissus as Bishop of Jerusalem, visited the Holy City circa 
A.D. 2T2, "in consequence of a vow, and for the sake of information in regard to its 
places." Origen went to Jerusalem, the Jordan Valley, and Sidon (A.D. 226-253), 
partly at least, to investigate the footsteps of Jesus and of his disciples and. of the 
prophets. Firmilian, while on a visit to Palestine, visited Origen "for the purpose of 
the holy places;" and in the time of Eusebius pilgrims visited Jerusalem to hear the 
story of the city, and to worship on the Mount of Olives. The Cave of the Nativity at 
Bethlehem is referred to by Origen; and Eusebius alludes to the cave on Olivet near 
which Christ taught his disciples. The site of the house at which the Apostles met after 
the Ascension appears also to have been known, and to have been occupied by a church 
which, according to a fourth century tradition, existed in the reign of Hadrian. No 
other sacred localities are mentioned. The absence of any allusion to Golgotha or the 
Tomb, in passages such as the above, which might naturally be expected to contain 
some reference to them, is most marked, and suggests that their exact positions were 
unknown to the writers, or that they attached no importance to them. 

Eusebius does not clearly tell us how Constantine was guided to the site of the 
Tomb of Christ. He speaks dimly of a divine inspiration; but he is inconsistent "n the 
testimony; for he declares that "contrary to all expectation" the Tomb became visible 
in the excavation. If the author of the work knew by the testimonies of those who 
had handed down the tradition; or if he had known through any other source that the 
spot was authentic, the finding of the Tomb could not have been "contrary to all expec- 
tation." 

The life of Constantine is a panegyric rather than a sober history. It differs 
widely in literary style from the sober Ecclesiastical History; it is full of exaggerated 
praise of the Emperor. While we do not charge Eusebius with a deliberate falsehood, 
it is not inconceivable that he might have readilv received any pious legend which lent 
a lustre to the Emperor's work. The tendency of the age was to indulge in legends of 
the marvelous. There is a lack of consistency in all these testimonies, Eusebius says 
not a word of the finding of the Cross, which another account associates with the find- 
ing of Golgotha. It is impossible to place implicit confidence in these testimonies. 

The view that Constantine wished to find the Cross is indirectly supported by the 
rapid development of the cult of the Cross. Less than twenty-five years after the 
Emperor's death Cyril could write that the wood of the Cross had been "distributed 
piecemeal to all the world." Julian was able to taunt the Christians with reverencing 
the Cross as a divinity; and the heathen had come to regard it as a Christian idol no 
less materialistic than their own. 

The later Greek traditions are far more concerned with the discovery of the three' 
cresses, and the identification of the true Cross than they are with the recovery of the 
Tomb, and in these traditions the principal figure is not the Emperor but his mother, 
the Empress Helena. Thus in the fourth and fifth centuries Socrates attributes the 
recovery of the Tomb and the Cross to Helena, assisted by Macarius. Sozomen says 



58 



Arguments Against the Traditional Golgotha 



that her zeal for Christianity made her anxious when at Jerusalem to find the wood of 
the Cross; and Theodoret states that she was the bearer of Constantine's letter to Mac- 
arius, and discovered the Cross. In the sixth century Alexander Monachus writes 
that Constantine ordered Macarius to find the Cross, the Tomb, and sacred relics, and 
that he sent his mother, at her own request, to Jerusalem that she and the bishop 
might search together for the Cross. According to Theophanes the Emperor ordered 
Macarius, on his return to Jerusalem from Nicsea, to search out "the place of the holy 
Resurrection and Golgotha, the place of the Skull, and the life giving wood (of the 
Cross.) " 

The Latin tradition of the fourth and fifth centuries is, that Helena on her arrival 
at Jerusalem made inquiry with regard to the place of the Crucifixion, and that when 
its situation was pointed out to her, she had the superincumbent buildings and 
earth removed, and found the three crosses. The Cross of Christ was then identified, 
with the aid of Macarius. 

Amongst Greek writers, Socrates says that Helena recovered the Tomb, "after 
much difficulty." Sozomen states that "it was no easy matter" to discover the Cross 
and the Tomb, and that according to some their situation was pointed out to the 
Empress by an Oriental Jew, who derived his knowledge from family documents, but 
that the more probable view was that God revealed it "by means of signs and dreams." 
Alexander Monachus writes that Helena, upon her arrival at Jerusalem, charged Macar- 
ius and his suffragans to search for the Cross, and that being at a loss what to do.they 
offered prayers to God, and were answered by a miraculous revelation of the place to 
the bishop. In the letter of the Emperor Leo to Omar, the site is said to have been 
disclosed by Jews under torture. According to Rufinus the place of the Crucifixion 
was pointed out to Helena "by signs from heaven"; and according to Severus the 
Empress, having first obtained the requisite information, had the spot cleared. Greg- 
ory of Tours says that the Cross was pointed out to Helena by a Jew named Juda. 

We have here obscurity, confusion, contradiction. 

Eusebius does not tell us how Macarius or Constantine were assured that they had 
found the Tomb of Christ ; his account reads like a legend. 

But why did Macarius choose this particular spot, if he had no tradition to guide 
him? It may have been that in the days before Hadrian, there had stood here a Chris- 
tian oratory. It may have been that the pagans had desecrated this oratory, convert- 
ing it into a heathen temple, and that Macarius wished to restore the ancient place of 
prayer. It may well be that the spot was associated with Christ in some way other 
than as his burial place. 

The great argument against the authenticity of the traditional Golgotha and the 
Holy Sepulchre is that their location in the very heart of the modern Jerusalem forces 
the conviction that their site must have been within the wall of Jerusalem in the days of 
Christ. From the Holy Scriptures we know that the following requirements must be 
fulfilled in the Holy Sepulchre. 

1. It must be in a garden. St. John xix. 41. 

2. It must be hewn out of the rock. St. Matthew xxvii. 60. 

3. It must be the tomb of a ricli Jew of the Herodian period. St. Matthew 
xxvii. 57, etc. 

4. It must be close to the place of the Crucifixion. St. John xix. 41. 

5. It must be near a high road. St. Matthew xxvii. 39, 41; St. Mark xv. 29; 
St. Luke xxiii. 26. 



The Second Wall 



-59 



6. It must have been quite new, and therefore would have had then no loculi 
or kokun. St. John xix. 41; St. Luke xxiii. 53. 

7. The place of the Crucifixion, which was close to it, must be where it could be 
seen ' 'afar off. " St . Matthew xxvii .55. 

8. It must be clearly outside all the inh abited parts of the city. Hebrews xiii. 

11. 

9. The tomb must be a chamber in which at least five people at one time could 
move about and converse. St. Luke xxiv. 4. 10. 

10. It must be closed by a great rolling stone. St. Matthew xxviii. 2,4; St. Mark 
xvi. 4„ etc. 

11. It must be "nigh unto the city" (St .John xix. 20), but far enough for persons 
coming to it and going from it, to miss each other on the way (compare the various 
visits to the tomb). 

12. The tomb must, be so constructed that a person close to it must, stoop down 
in order to look into it. See St. John xx. 1 1 ; St. Luke xxiv. 1 2 . 

All the excavations and explorations made at Jerusalem have left this question 
unsolved . Warren found at a depth of eighty feet below the present surface the 
foundations of the ancient wall at the south-east angle of the Haram area ; but no one 
has found authentic ruins of the second wall which enclosed Jerusalem on the west and 
north in the days of Christ. 

In 1SS7 the celebrated Conrad Schick declared from personal observation that the 
present northern wall of Jerusalem could not be the wall of Agrippa. since it was not 
built on the rock, but on the earth with a shallow foundation. — (Palestine Ex- 
ploration Fund, 1887, 214.) 

Writing in the Palestine Exploration Fund in 1891, Schick declares from observa- 
tion that the present northern wall near the New Gate "is put on debris without 
proper fo un dation, and was most probably built by Suliman A.D., 1537." 

In 1885 some traces of an ancient wall were dug up just east of David's Tower. 
The line of the wall bent to the north-west rurining west of Frutiger's Bank. These 
ruins were seen by the American Consul Merrill, and are described by him in Palestine 
Exploration Fund Quarterly Statement 1886, pp. 21-24. He judges that these were 
ruins of the "second wall" of Jerusalem: and from its course he declares that it is more 
improbable than ever that the traditional Holy Sepulchre were outside the second wall. 

In the year i860, amongst the many Christians killed at Damascus and the 
Lebanon, there were a number of Roman Catholics, and their churchesxonvents, and 
houses destroyed by the fanatical Muslims. France, the Western Power protecting 
the Christians, especially those of the Roman Catholic creed, demanded compensation. 
It was proposed by the Ottoman Port to give in exchange the so-called "Khankeh" at 
Jerusalem to the Catholics, for that destroyed at Damascus by the Muslims. 

In the year 1859. the Russian Government purchased a piece of this land not far 
to the east of the church of the Holy Sepulchre. The engineer Pierotti was appointed 
to excavate here, and he found the remains of a wall which he declares to be a portion 
of a Herodian wall built upon the foundations of a Solomonic wall. Between 1882 and 
1883 the Archimandrite Antoninus caused the ground to be completely excavated to 
build there a Russian convent. Among other things considerable portions of an 
ancient wall was found, of which Schick speaks thus : 

"At the bottom,on the left side,is part of the present Suk. or Market. Xorth oi it 
is the street, Tyhan ez-Zeit, running to the Damascus Gate, or Bab el-Amud. Along 



CO 



The Second Wall 



this street there are shops; and at the north end there are steps, and a raised road, 
passing over arches westwards to the Coptic and Abyssinian Convents. Near these 
steps are three granite columns, broken, but still in situ; a fourth was removed about 
twenty years ago, when a door was broken through the wall to make a wood-store. 
There are also some remains of a pier or stone jamb; and this, with the columns, formed 
in the Byzantine period the "Propylaeum" of Constantine's Church; the columns prob- 
ably extended farther north, but this cannot be ascertained on account of the buildings. 

The wall which now closes the space between the columns was apparently built by 
the Crusaders The open area between the columns and the east wall of Constantine's 
Church was vaulted as it is now. At the south end of the vault, which shows traces 
of restoration, there is an old wall, partly Jewish, but principally Byzantine. 

At the bottom of this wall there is the ancient "threshold." It is one stone, with a 
tread little more than one inch high, for the folding doors to shut against. The 
"threshold of an ancient door is certainly Jewish, and in the Byzantine time it was 
used again as a door; but it opened (unexpectedly) outwards, proving that the open 
Propylaeum could be shut up against the court of the Church. The lower part of the 
western wall of the Propylaeum is of Jewish masonry, with drafted stones; higher up it 
is of Byzantine masonry, which can be well seen in the houses of the north; it formed 
the east wall of Constantine's Basilica. The southern wall of the Basilica was also 
built on old Jewish masonry, which forms a slightly obtuse angle with the east wall. 
This angle and the lowest course of stones in the wall are Jewish; the stones of the 
upper courses are smooth, smaller, and Byzantine. On the north side of this wall 
stone corbels were inserted at a later time, perhaps by the Crusaders, in order to vault 
the space. In the parallel wall to the north there are similar corbels. The Byzantine 
building, according to Eusebius, had no vaults or arches, but was roofed with timber, 
etc. South of the southern wall of the Basilica is a fine platform, paved with very 
large flat smooth stones. On the north part was an open passage beside the Church; 
on the southern part a cloister or covered passage. From this raised platform, broad 
steps lead down to a similarly paved platform, nine feet below, and to the old gate. 

Some traces of rock-hewn steps can still be seen. In the Russian part of the vault, 
on the site of the Propylaeum, a pavement was found, formed of large stones, from one 
foot to one and one-half thick, more than three feet long, and two feet six inches to two 
feet eight inches wide, nicely and exactly laid, with good joints; the upper surfaces are 
very smooth, as if originally polished. This pavement extends southwards to the 
street Ed-Dabbaghin, or as far as the place was cleared of ruins, stones, and earth; it 
probably extends further south, and perhaps also to the east. It has a fall towards the 
south, so that the water could run into the rock-hewn sewer, or, further south, to the 
masonry sewer. About the middle of the pavement is the so-called "Greek Arch," 
known for many years and figured in books about Jerusalem. The north pier is appar- 
ently Byzantine, built of smooth and well -cut stones, which are much damaged by age. 
The south side is formed by a column with a block capital, unlike the one on the pier. 
This has puzzled every one, and given the impression that it is a reconstruction and not 
the original arch. Yet the column may be genuine with a wrong capital upon it. In 
this case the column must have stood in the centre, and the whole have formed a double 
arch. 

In the Byzantine portion there are five courses of stones from the pavement to the 
spring of the arch; I cannot tell the thickness of the missing abacus, but the curve of 
the arch can still be seen. In place of the abacus there is now a stone, with mouldings 



The Second Wall 



61 



on its face, which I think must have been the key-stone. The key-stone certainly had 
some ornament; it was probably broken by the falling of the arch, and then chiselled 
to fit its present place. 

The arch probably had an attic, which I have not attempted to restore. The 
entrance to the passage is 12 feet 8 inches wide, at the centre it is 14 feet wide, and 
it is 13 feet deep. It was once arched over, and I think it was a monument of some 
event; very likely of the passing of our Lord to Calvary. It formed at the same time 
an entrance to Constantine's Church, for a road ran westward from it, along the side 
of the southern cloisters of Constantine's Church, which stood at a higher level, to the 
present south court of the Church of the Holy Sepulchre. It might thus be considered 
part cf that Propylaeum mentioned by Eusebius. The column is of reddish limestone, 
and so is the cracked unfinished capital; but the basement is of white marble, which 
has apparently been used a second time." Another similar basement was found in the 
rubbish near the side of the column. 

As the Russians found no cistern on their property, and water was required for 
any building erected upon it, they resolved to make a new cistern. Xorth of the 
"Greek Arch" the rock was known to be everywhere near the surface, and as it would 
have been difficult to dig a cistern there, they determined to try the ground to the 
south. They removed the Byzantine pavement, and finding at first earth and stones, 
they were able to dig down five or six feet. They then came to hewn stones, lying in 
disorder as if they had fallen down on the destruction of a wall or building. They 
removed the stones until they had made a pit more than 20 feet deep, about 45 feet 
long, and 28 feet wide. As they had then obtained the requisite size for the cistern, 
and further excavation would have been dangerous on account of the loose stones on 
the three sides, and the proximity of the new Greek building, they did not dig deeper. 
They built the walls of the new cistern, and at the bottom ran in dissolved lime until 
all the empty spaces between the stones were filled up. 

On the east side they found an ancient wall, running north and south, nearly 
under the present boundary wall of their property. Under the pavement the wall 
consisted of two courses of large smooth Byzantine stones resting on five courses of 
rather smaller stones, with dressed joints and rough faces. Each course is set back a 
few inches, as the walls ascends. This wall of seven courses stands on bad 
rubble masonry, built with small stones of all sizes and forms; what is lower down I do 
not know. When this wall was discovered it was rumored that the ancient town wall 
had been found; this is only to a certain degree correct. It is now quite clear: first, 
that there was a trench here, and if this were the ditch of the town wall, the latter must 
have stood on rock, or above a rock-scarp, and not on rubble; secondly, the wall is not 
Jewish but Byzantine, with some Jewish stones built into it." 

Schick and Pere Vincent , preoccupied with the thought of defending the traditional 
Holy Sepulchre, have endeavored to prove that the lower courses of this wall were the 
original second wall of Jersusalem; and that Constantine employed this ruined wall as 
the substructure of one of the walls of his Basilica. 

The theory seems to me frivolous. Pere Germer-Durand, a far abler archaeologist, 
and one who stoutly defends the traditional site of Golgotha, rejects the theory of 
Vincent. — (Echos d'Orient, May 1903.). I examined carefully the famous wall now 
enclosed in the Russian Convent. Certainly the wall is Roman. The divergence in 
the character of the masonry between the lower and upper courses might be explained 



62 



The Second Wall 



from the fact that the masons had employed stones from Jewish ruins in the lower 
courses. The wall may be the ruins of some sort of building of Hadrian's time. 

The late General Wilson declares that formerly there was a general impression that 
most of the stones with a marginal draft were Jewish. This view, he declares, has long 
been recognized as an error due to insufficient archaeological knowledge. I quote from 
Wilson as follows: 

"It was believed at one time that any fragment of masonry at Jerusalem could 
be dated, approximately, by the manner in which the stones were dressed. But Mr. 
Dickie, a trained architect, who was associated with Dr. Bliss in the excavations at 
Jerusalem in 1894-97, after a study of all the masonry exposed, came to a different 
conclusion. After pointing out that the modern stone dresser uses the same tools 
that his predecessor did when the ancient walls were built, he remarks that his investi- 
gation 'tends to encourage scepticism as to the possibility of fixing periods by any hard 
and fast rules of masonry alone.' " 

"Each succeeding style has mingled with its predecessor from the time of its pro- 
duction. Boss and margin work may have been used in early Jewish times, but was 
undoubtedly used in later Jewish-Roman times, and afterwards. Comb-pick margin 
with pick-centered dressing was certainly used contemporarily with the boss and mar- 
gin, and may have been used before. Quarry -pick dressing is universal. The delicate 
pick-centre and comb-pick margined dressing of the Haram Area is certainly character- 
istic of one great building period such as the reign of Herod the Great might signify. 

Boss and margin work is simply a natural development in stone dressing. It is 
found in the Hittite walls at Boghaz Keui, in the walls of Phoenician cities in Syria 
and Palestine, of the eighth century city at Lachish, and of Greek cities in Asia Minor; 
it is seen also in Roman and Byzantine buildings, and in castles erected during the 
period of the Crusaders. The highly-finished masonry of the Wailing Place, and of the 
revetment of 'David's Tower' might be a copy of that of the podium of the temple of 
Diana at Ephesus, or that of the temple of Jupiter at Athens, so close is the resem- 
blance." 

It is intrinscially absurd to suppose that so thick a wall as must have been the 
second wall of Jerusalem, could be utilized in situ as a wall of Constantine's beautiful 
Basilica. 

Of Schick and Pere Vincent's theory General Wilson speaks as follows: 
"Advocates of the authenticity of Golgotha accept the theory of the late Dr. 
Schick, that the wall turned abruptly to the east at the end of fragment A, and then 
followed the zigzag course of the Haret-el-Mawazin to some massive masonry (E) at the 
corner of Christian Street. The ruins at a sharp bend in the former street (D), now 
known to be mediaeval, were supposed by Dr. Schick to be the remains of an old corner 
tower. From E the wall is carried across Christian Street to a block of masonry (F), 
and thence eastward to a fragment of a wall (G) which runs east and west under the 
centre of the German Church of the Redeemer, and stands upon debris of some depth. 
A little further east the wall is assumed to turn at a right angle and join the ruins of 
the Russian Convent (H). These remains are supposed to extend northward to the 
traditional Porta Judiciaria (J), and to have formed part of the eastern side of a large 
castle at right angles to the wall. They have not, however, the characteristics of 
ancient fortifications; and neither the historical records nor the natural features of the 
ground lend support to the view that the re-entering angle at this point was occupied 
by an important fort. The masonry faced with large stones is probably part of the 



The Secoxd Wall 



63 



eastern wall in front of the entrance to Constantine's Basilica. It undoubtedly con- 
tains stones taken from earlier buildings, possibly from the second wall, but it could 
not have belonged to the defences of the city. Dr. Schick places a gate tower at J, 
and then carries the wall eastward along a high rock-scarp to a block of masonry at the 
"House of Veronica.' From this point the wall, after crossing the Tyro- 
poeon, is carried up along the south side of the ditch to the Antonia. According to 
Dr. Schick the assumed wall was protected by a wide ditch, which extended from 
Jaffa Gate to the St. Stephen's Gate. This ditch is entirely imaginary. No certain 
evidence of its existence has been found anywhere, excepting at the place where it sepa- 
rated the Antonia from Bezetha. At several points, even where the ditch is said to 
have been traceable — on the west side of the supposed castle — there is now known to be 




fee! - co o soo^ee' 

MAP SHOWING CONJECTURAL SECOXD WALL 



solid rock, as on the north and south sides of the Chapel of St. Helena. Unfortun- 
ately, Dr. Schick, whose accuracy as regards measurement is well known, rarely made 
any distinction either in his writings or in his drawings between existing and assumed 
remains. He considered it necessary to identify everything that he found, and his 
enthusiasm frequently led him astray in his efforts to complete or support preconceived 
theories. This tendency is most marked in his attempt to define the course of the 
second wall and its ditch ; and it is to be regretted that his views have been so widely 
adopted. There is no evidence that the isolated fragments of masonry, some of which 
differ widely in character and construction, ever formed part of a continuous wall; and 
there is no certainty that any of them belonged to the second wall."' 



Arguments Against the Traditional Golgotha 



65 



At the time of the capture of Jerusalem by Titus, the city was protected on the 
north side by three walls, and for the trace of these fortifications the only authority 
is Josephus. 

Josephus describes the second wall succinctly thus : 

"The second wall started from a gate called Genath (or 'Gennath'), which belonged 
to the first wall, and, enclosing only the northern quarter, went up to the Antonia." 

The true site of Gennath is not known ; and the general course of the wall is not 
given; hence its site has to this day remained conjectural. The map made from the 
indications of Josephus by the Palestine Exploration Fund places the traditional site 
of the Holy Sepulchre within the second wall. The map of Robinson, 1841 ; of Fergus- 
son, 1847; of Tobler, 1876; and of Schick, 1876, all place the site of the traditional 
Holy Sepulchre within the wall. At a later period under the influence of Pere Vin- 
cent, Schick changed his views so as to exclude the Holy Sepulchre. 

A serious objection against the site of the Holy Sepulchre is that the second wall in 
order to exclude it must run in a zigzag route making a great right angle to exclude the 
Sepulchre; thereby running on lower ground than the level of the supposed Golgotha. 

The rock levels given by Capt. Conder in Palestine Exploration Fund, Quarterly 
Statement for 1880, p. 77 seqq., give the level of the floor of the chapel of Calvary as 
2,494 feet above sea level; that of the rock in the Russian Chapel where the ruined 
wall stands is only 2,450 feet above sea level. As Calvary was cut down by Constan- 
tine's builders, the original altitude was higher. 

Moreover the area of the city enclosed by a second wall which would exclude the 
Holy Sepulchre is too small for the population of Jerusalem in the days of Herod. I 
am persuaded that the third wall was far to the north of the present wall ; and that the 
second wall enclosed a much larger area to the northwest and north, most assuredly 
including the Holy Sepulchre. Tacitus declares that 600,000 Jews were in the city 
when it was first besieged. Josephus declares that 2,700,200 persons assembled at 
Jerusalem to eat the Passover under Cestius. This number did not include the legally 
impure, — Wars of the Jews VI. IX. 3. Making allowance for great exaggeration, it is 
clear that the Jerusalem of those days must have been much larger than the present 
city. Its population now within and without the walls is perhaps about a hundred 
thousand; hence it is evident that Josephus must have known a Jerusalem of vaster 
area than the present. A projecting of the third wall to the north implies that the 
second wall enclosed a larger area than the defenders of the traditional Sepulchre give 
it. If one will go up on the slope of Olivet and look down on the city, an irresistible 
conviction will seize him that the Holy Sepulchre, whose dome uprears itself almost in 
the middle of the huddle of houses, can not be on the site of the Tomb that was in the 
villa of Joseph of Arimathea. 

And here we may ask if it be reasonable to believe that Joseph of Arimathaea 
should have his sepulchre so close to the place where Christ was crucified. The exact 
distance from the place whe?e the cross is said to have been erected to the Holy Sepul- 
chre is 135 feet. Certainly the executioners did not invade the private villa of Joseph 
of Arimathaea to make it a place of execution of condemned men. Whatever be the 
origin of the name Golgotha, we can not believe that the villa of Joseph comprised it, 
or a part of it, and that his tomb was cut in its side. It is true that St. John, XIX. 42, 
says that the tomb was nigh at hand. But this is a relative term. It denoted that the 
tomb was not at a distance; but it does not move us to believe that it was in the slope 



66 



Ancient Tombs in the Church of the Holy Sepulchre 



of the knoll itself. A tomb distant 700 yards from the place of execution could be 
said to be nigh at hand. 

The defenders of the traditional Sepulchre are obliged to admit that it could not 
have been more than 350 feet outside their supposed line of the second wall. Now 
such a distance does not satisfy the requirements of the Gospel account. 

Matthew says that "as they came out, they found a man of Cyrene, Simon by 
name: him they compelled to go with them that he might bear his cross." — Math. 
XXVII. 32. This can not refer to their coming out of the Praetorium; for they would 
not relieve Jesus of the cross at the very beginning of the way to Golgotha. Moreover 
the use of the phrase"to come out "without any qualifying word or phrase must mean to 
come out of the city. They meet the countryman Simon coming in from the country. 
Pere Vincent claims to have discovered a gate in the old ruins which he believes to be of 
the second wall. Hence it would be absurd to believe that the executioners would 
have impressed Simon to carry the cross the short distance which the traditional 
Golgotha stands removed from the supposed gate in their supposed wall. 

Eleven years after the Crucifixion, Agrippa encompassed the northern suburb of 
Jerusalem with a great wall. He was compelled to do this to protect the dwellers in 
that populous suburb. This suburb must have been of gradual growth. Even if we 
grant that the second wall excluded the present site of Calvary ; in the day of the cruci- 
fixion there must have been human habitations there ; just as to-day Jerusalem has 
burst from her walls on the north and north-west, and all the land is covered with 
houses. The city cannot expand to the East on account of the deep valley of the Kidron ; 
neither can it expand to the South by reason of the Wady er-Rababi. Where- 
fore the tendency has always been to grow to the north and north-west; and it was 
to protect this growth that Agrippa built his wall. The lie of the land about the pres- 
ent Sepulchre is such that the growing city would certainly find it fit for building 
houses there. 

Two conclusions inevitably follow from this. First, Joseph would not purchase 
his villa in which was his tomb, in the midst of this suburb so close to the wall; and, 
secondly, the executioners would not execute the death sentence near to human 
dwellings. 

It is alleged that early rock cut graves have been found in the rock under the 
Syrian Chapel; and also to the north-east under the house of the Coptic Bishop. They 
declare therefore that the place was an ancient Jewish cemetery. I insert here two 
descriptions of these curious tombs given by Mr. C. Clermont Ganneau and by General 
Wilson. The first description given by Clermont-Ganneau which appeared in the 
Palestine Exploration Fund Quarterly Statement for the year 1877, p. 76, is as fol- 
lows: 

"About twenty yards west of the Holy Sepulchre, in the church itself, is a little 
crypt traditionally known as the tomb of Joseph of Arimathaea, or the Tombs of Joseph 
and Nicodemus. The question whether the crypt is ancient or not has long been recog- 
nized as one of the essential elements in the great controversy over the authenticity of 
the Sepulchre. 

"The ascertained existence of this place of burial, belonging without doubt to a 
Jewish burial-place, would at once remove one of the principal objections to the 
authenticity of the site. 

"The question may, in fact, be resolved into two propositions, the latter subordi- 
nate to the former — viz., (1) Can the traditional Sepulcher, which is within the walls 



Ancient Tombs in the Church of the Holy Sepulchre. 



67 



of the modern city, really be a Jewish tomb? and (2) If so, can it be the Tomb of our 
Lord? 

"The presence round the Sepulchre of a group of ancient tombs would solve the 
first difficulty, which many desire to see removed before proceeding to the second. 
They do not see their way to admit that there were, in the time of our Lord, tombs 
existing on the spot which now is shown as His. It is, therefore, most important to 
establish, if possible, the fact that the shrine now adored has, or may have, within it, if 
not the very tomb in which Jesus was laid, at least a real Jewish tomb. 

"Both adversaries and partisans of the Sepulchre have appreciated the value of 
this preliminary difficulty, and have, from the first, made it the starting point of their 
argument. But neither have, in my opinion, produced an exhaustive examination 
of the place in dispute. 




NICODEMUS' TOMB 



"I have been enabled, by a careful study of this crypt, to ascertain sundry points 
which I. believe have not been noticed by my predecessors, and which appear to me 
decisive in this question. 

A few yards west of the Holy Sepulchre, which rises isolated in the midst of the 
rotunda of the church, we enter, after passing through two of the columns on which the 
cupola rests, a little chapel belonging to the Syrians. At the end of the chapel is an 
apse looking west. A passage on the left, at the commencement of the apse, gives 
access obliquely to a narrow and dark retreat partly formed by walls cut in the rock, 
and partly by the wall belonging to the church itself. 

There is a step cut in the rock. Mounting this, we see at our feet, by the uncertain 
light of a smoky lamp, a black and angular hole in the rocky soil. A few inches beyond 
we have before us the wall cut vertically in the rock. In the middle of this wall is an 
arcade semicircular and sunk in the wall, about four feet in height by 24 feet in breadth. 
It covers two smaller arched openings, two black and gaping jaws — kokim (K J, Fig. 2), 



68 Ancient Tombs in the Church of the Holy Sepulchre 

which are sunk horizontally into the rocky foundation to a depth which we shall pres- 
ently learn. 

On the right is another wall of rock, making, with that of the end, an obtuse angle. 
Two other openings (I H) are pierced in it, but these are walled up. Between the sec- 
ond mouth and the entrance of the vault the wall is constructed; in it is a door (E) 
shut with a key. 

The wall on the left is made up of a thick wall (Fig. i), which traverses diagonally 
the ditch cut in the ground, and forms, with the two other walls, two very acute angles. 
The lamp is suspended to this wall. 




SECOND PLATE OF NICODEMUS TOMB 



This singular retreat is therefore triangular. Two only of the sides are of rock, 
the third being a part of the wall belonging to the church, which appears to have been 
thus built across a pre-existing cave. The greater part of the roof is also cut in the rock. 

At the left extremity of the wall, at the back, beside the opening of the hole K, 
we may recognise the existence of a third opening similar to the others, but walled up 
and partly hidden by the thick oblique wall. The stopping of this opening is not so 
perfect but that we can insert a thin stick and prove that here is a third place, L, par- 
allel to the other two, and lying, like those, horizontally in the rock. 



Ancient Tombs in the Church of the Holy Sepulchre 



(in 



On the wall to the right we make a similar observation. There was once follow- 
ing the two openings I H (Fig. 2), in the place occupied by the little closed gate E, a 
third opening parallel to the preceding. It is easy to ascertain, towards the point O, 
the commencement of the lateral wall of the opening now destroyed. 

Already in this disposition of rock-cut openings had been recognised the general 
form of Jewish tombs, which consists of a small square cave, with a certain number 
(generally 3 -{-3-1-3) of loculi in three of the four faces. But even those who admitted 
this resemblance were unable to give a satisfactory account of the primitive form which 
belonged to this cave, and could offer no reply to the grave objections which their adver- 
saries made on certain strange peculiarities. 

Before proceeding further, let us consider a point which has contributed largely to 
the controversy ; it is the kind of hole cut in the rocky floor of the chamber in front of 
the loculus K, which I have already mentioned. It consists of a triangular opening, 
Z G, the angle of which is opposed to the oblique wall on the left. The two sides of 
this angle show on the left a small groove or rebate, probably intended to receive a 
horizontal slab. Along the wall the edges of the trench are irregularly cut away. 

On descending (at G) into tins hollow, which is three feet seven inches deep, we 
find ourselves in a kind of long cave, marked in dots on the plan (Fig. 2), which runs 
partly (especially 011 the right between S S) under the rock; thus we can see at G, on 
Fig. 2, how it penetrates beneath the loculi K J. This hole is less than five feet long 
by 1 foot eight inches in breadth. Certainly no adult body could have been placed in 
it. Still less, again, in the hole Z, which is close to G, and separated from it only by a 
thin partition cut in the rock. This is rectangular, and two feet in length by 1 foot seven 
inches in breadth; it is partly covered over by a fragment of flat rock. Its height 
is two feet seven inches. Between the edge of the rock forming the ceiling and the upper 
edge of the partition, which separates the two trenches Z H, there is only 10 inches of 
breadth. 

Those who maintain the apocryphal character of the Holy Sepulchre, relying on 
the dimensions of the two latter holes (to which tradition attaches the names of Joseph 
of Arimatha:a and Xicodemus) deny them any sepulchral character, because the}" are 
not large enough to contain the bodies of adults. The objection is specious, and it has 
been even pushed to an extreme by the supposition that we have here a pseudo-sepul- 
chre hollowed out at the period of the Crusaders on a Jewish model, in order to furnish 
a material justification of the legend. I need not point out how inadmissible this sup- 
position is, and how little in accordance with popular habits, which generally imagine 
the legend in order to explain the monument. 

It might be replied that we have simplv two hollow places excavated as ossuaries, 
and intended to receive the bones accumulated in the sepulchre either directly or by 
means of those little funerary chests or coffins of which I collected so many and such 
curious specimens during my mission. 

The same objection has been urged against the loculi K J placed in the higher level. 
In fact, these two loculi hardly measure more at the present moment than five feet 
in depth, which is insufficient for a body of ordinary proportions. 

The loculi have in general a depth of six feet six inches; and it must be owned 
that this time the objection is more embarrassing than before, and that those who think 
these are fictitious or artificial sepulchres may find an occasion for triumph by this 
argument. The reply, however, although it has never to my knowledge been made, 
is easv. 



70 



Ancient Tombs in the Church of the Holy Sepulchre 



We saw above that the mouths of the two loculi are within a sunken arcade; hol- 
lowed out, that is, of the flat vertical wall. Suppose for a moment that the arcade 
was made after the loculi. What follows? The loculi would be increased in length 
by the space which they lost in sinking the arcade, as the arcade would have simply 
shortened the loculi by cutting away the front part. Well, that is exactly what has 
happened. The loculi originally extended as far as S S in the drawing; we have the 
material proof. The removal of the rock has not been so skilfully effected as not to 
leave behind the visible traces of this original extension. These traces are easily to be 
recognised in the engraving of the cave. 

We must also observe that this unmistakable mark, which goes considerably 
beyond the end of the arcade, is slightly in advance of the perpendicular face of the 
wall, which would tend to prove that the wall itself had experienced a slight setting 
back. 

If we proceed to restore the loculi to their original dimensions by measuring them 
from the end to the line S S, we shall find ample room for our regulation two metres. 

But, it will be asked, for what purpose was this arcade hollowed out and the two 
loculi thus disfigured? For what purpose? Here we may introduce our legend. 
Popular belief attached to this place the names of Joseph and Nicodemus. The double 
site has been localised in the two loculi,- visible at once to pilgrims to this crypt half 
destroyed by the construction of the church. Then, in order to fix this association 
indissolubly to the spot, and to give the sanctuary in course of formation a religious 
consecration, they constructed this kind of niche, convenient for the purposes of wor- 
ship, and lending to these openings thus connected the aspect of a little chapel." 

Gen. Wilson's description is in the same number page 128: 

"In an extremely interesting paper in the last Quarterly Statement, M. Ganneau 
has drawn attention to the tomb-chamber in the Church of the Holy Sepulchre, 
known as that of Joseph and Nicodemus, and has given his reasons for believing that 
there is a second and somewhat similar tomb-chamber at a lower level. There is noth- 
ing improbable in this suggestion, though I think it rather hazardous, as the facts upon 
which M. Ganneau bases his argument might be explained in another way. My object, 
however, is not to criticise M. Ganneau's paper, but to give a few additional details 
which came under my own observation whilst employed upon the Ordinance Survey 
of Jerusalem in 1864-5. 

"The first is that, contrary to the usual custom at Jerusalem, the tomb-chamber 
is excavated in the hard (missce) and not in the soft (malaki) strata of limestone; the 
second is that the beds or floors of the "kokim" slope downward from the mouth , the 
general rule being to cut them horizontal. M. Ganneau mentions a door, E (Fig. 2), 
on the right of the chamber of which he does not appear to have been able to procure 
a key. I was more fortunate, and the following note on the chamber to which the 
door gives access may be of interest to the subscribers of the Fund. The chamber, is 
irregular in shape; the wall on the right hand side on entering is masonry; the remain- 
ing sides, as well as the roof, are rock. It is evident that the chamber was formed, 
probably when the church was built, by cutting away a portion of the original tomb- 
chamber in such a manner as to leave a sort of cave, and the floor was lowered at the 
same time for a certain purpose explained below. I think M. Ganneau is quite right 
in supposing that the door, E, was originally a "kok," though its shape is now rectangu- 
lar ; this "kok" has entirely disappeared, and so has that marked H, with the exception of 
the mouth and a small portion of the sides. The third "kok," I, is of special interest ; 



Ancient Tombs in the Church of the Holy Sepulchre 



71 



the right side and a portion of the roof have been cut away, but the bed has been left 
untouched, and the remaining portion of the roof forms a sort of rock-canopy over it. 
The reason for lowering the floor is now apparent; it was to convert the 
bed of the "kok" into a raised bench or altar, and I believe on certain occasions it is 
still used as an altar by the Syrian community to whom the chamber belongs. 

In my notes to the Ordnance Survey of Jerusalem, I alluded to the 
light which the "kok," I, might possibly throw on the primitive form of the Holy Sepul- 
chre. My impression is that if the Holy Sepulchre were originally a"kok" — and 1 see no 
reason why it should not have been — the mode of proceeding was somewhat similar 
to that described above; that is to say, the floor of the original tomb-chamber was 
lowered, the side of the "kok" was cut away, and a canopy of rock left over its bed. As 
time went on and changes were made the"kok" would probably be entirely isolated,the 
canopy of rock disappear, and the tomb assume its present form. Felix Fabri, 1480 
A. D., mentions that pilgrims were in the habit of knocking oil little pieces of the 
rock to carry away as relics, and it is possible that this may partially account for the 
disappearance of the roof of the "kok." Some of the earlier pilgrims mention a 
cave ; this may be explained by reference to the little Syrian chamber in which a roof 
of rock has been left, and the Holy Sepulchre may have undergone similar treatment. 

"M. Ganneau, in his opening paragraphs, alludes to the doubt which at one time 
existed as to the nature of the so-called tombs of Joseph and Nicodemus; I cannot 
understand how any one who had ever seen the rock-hewn tombs near Jerusalem could 
have any doubts on the subject. The chamber in which they are situated is unmis- 
takably a Jewish tomb-chamber, and the tombs themselves are as clearly Jewish" kokim." 
Whether this tomb-chamber was inside or outside the second wall is quite another 
question; I think myself it was inside; but the question is one which would require 
more space for argument than can be given at present." 

Of course no man of competent judgment now holds these to be the tombs of 
Joseph and Nicodemus. I examined them with Pere Vincent; and I confess that they 
impress me as being of later origin than the Crucifixion, modeled after the fashion of 
Jewish tombs. Robinson pronounced them to be a forgery. They may be the result 
of a pious wish of some Christian to have a tomb in the rock near the supposed Sepul- 
chre of Christ. Captain Conder believes that they are the tombs of the Kings of Judah. 
Thus he writes in the Palestine Exploration Fund Quarterly Statement for 1880, page 102 : 

"This tomb, minutely described by Colonel Wilson in a former number of the 
Quarterly Statement, and now called the tomb of Nicodemus, I would propose to iden- 
tify with the long-lost tombs of the nine famous kings of Judah. Any one who studies 
Colonel Wilson's plan will see that the tomb had originally nine "kokim," or graves for 
nine bodies ; and it is yet more remarkable that some of these are sunk below the level 
of the chamber flcor, reminding us of the expression of Josephus, that the sepulchres 
were underground and could not be seen even by those who stood within the monument. 

"The reasons, briefly recapitulated, for this identification, are — 

"1st. The tomb is undoubtedly ancient and Jewish. 

"2nd. It is in the City of David. 

"3rd. It is within the probable circuit of the old walls. 

"4th. It contains graves for nine bodies, according to the number of kings enu- 
merated in the Bible. 

"5th. Some of these graves are concealed beneath the floor. 
'"6th. It is the only undoubted Jewish tomb in Jerusalem. 



7'-' 



Fonck's Theory of the Holy Sepulchre 



"If the Holy Sepulchre were really an ancient tomb, we might identify it with the 
tomb of Huldah, the only other sepulchre within the walls, according to the Talmud." 

Certainly no one may validly conclude that the presence of these rock-cut tombs 
proves against so much contrary evidence that the place was outside of the walls of 
Jerusalem in the days of Christ. All will admit that the presence of these tombs is per- 
plexing; but their presence does not really strengthen the cause of the Holy Sepulchre. 
If we accept the site as an ancient Jewish cemetery, then it could not have been the 
villa of the wealthy Joseph of Arimathaea. The graves are too scattered to be the suite 
of graves of a family tomb. They are not finely wrought, as would be expected in 
a rich man's tombs. It is hard to judge the age of a stone. While I incline to believe 
these tombs later than Christ, they may go back to the days before the captivity, when 
intramural burial was practised in Jerusalem. 

Eusebius speaks of the tomb of Christ being a cave, avrpov. Could a tomb cut 
out of the living rock be called a cave? 

The events of the Resurrection suppose the site of the Holy Sepulchre to be some 
distance from the city. The holy women go out to the tomb very early in the morn- 
ing; but the sun is risen when they come to the tomb, Mark XVI. They speak with 
the angel; and hasten back; they meet Jesus on the way back, and lay hold on him, 
and speak to him; they had run some distance from the tomb before Jesus met them; 
while the women are returning from the tomb, Peter, John, and Mary Magdalene go 
out to the tomb by another way, and hence do not meet them. In all these events 
not a human being is present, except the actors mentioned in the Holy Gospels. Could 
juch events take place unwitnessed at sunrise so close as is the traditional Golgotha 
to their supposed wall ? The East has well been called the immovable East ; and every- 
one who has visited it knows that the activity of life begins early in the morning. This 
argument is strengthened by the fact that in the very locality of the present Holy 
Sepulchre, there must have been human habitations in that day. St. John, XIX. 20. 
tells us that Golgotha was nigh to the city. As we have said before this is a relative 
term. St. Matthew, XXI. 1, declares that Jesus drew nigh unto Jerusalem, when he 
came unto Bethphage near Bethany. What St. John declares is that the scene of 
the Crucifixion was so close to Jerusalem that all those of the city, or who came to the 
city, could easily go out to see it. 

We have been necessarily long in this treatise : Mention will again occur of it in 
our Diary; and so for the present we must declare our conviction that the authenticity 
of the Holy Sepulchre is impossible. 

In discarding the traditional site of Golgotha we have no other site to offer. There 
is not a shred of positive evidence for any other place. There are conjectures of the 
possibility of other sites, some of which deserve some passing notice. 

In the Wissenschaftliche Beilage zur Germania of April 7, 1897, the Reverend 
Father L. Fonck of the Society of Jesus published an article in which he vigorously 
defends the authenticity of the Church of the Floly Sepulchre at Jerusalem. To the 
question whether the traditional Holy Sepulchre is genuine he makes answer : 

'We can with certainty give to this question an affirmative answer. Not, as 
men have said, that the Church obliges us to believe this; but for the reason that no 
reasonable ground exists to cause us to doubt the authenticity of the Holy Sepulchre." 
Father Fonck then takes up the question whether the present Church of the Holy 
Sepulchre is on the site of the Basilika of Constantine. He declares that it is proven 
that Constantine erected the great Basilika where the present church stands. He 



Foxck's Theory of the Holy Sepulchre 



73 



cites for this opinion Robinson and Karl Ritter. He ridicules the opinion of James 
Fergusson who, in Smith's Dictionary of the Bible, Art. Jerusalem, asserts that Con- 
stantine erected the great Basilika on the site of the Temple of Solomon. Against 
this absurd theory Fonck adduces the clear testimony of the Pilgrim of Bordeaux, 
which we have before quoted. 

Fonck also insists on the ruins lately found near the traditional Holy Sepulchre. 
He believes that these ruins were a part of Constantine's construction. This later 
proof is weak; since these ruined walls which we have seen in the Russian convent near 
the present church of the Holy Sepulchre might have belonged to some other Roman 
building. There is certainly nothing in their character to force one to believe that the}' 
belonged to Constantine's Basilika. 

The next question which Father Fonck examines is whether Constantine found 
the real tomb of Christ, and built thereon the Basilika. He mentions the strong oppo- 
sition to this identity; and then declares that the arguments against the identity of 
the present Holy Sepulchre are weak, and refuted by positive facts. 

Father Fonck mentions as the chief argument alleged against the present Holy 
Sepulchre that it is declared to have been within the walls of Jerusalem in the time 
of Christ ; whereas Christ must have been crucified and placed in a tomb outside the 
walls. Fonck's answer is that the mined walls recently found in the excavations of 
the Russian convent, and in the Protestant Church of the Redeemer are ruins of the 
second wall of the city, and that consequently the traditional Holy Sepulchre was out- 
side, and very close to the second wall of the city. He rightly cites for this opinion the 
late Dr. Schick, who was for fifty years architect here at Jerusalem. Dr. Schick at 
first rejected the authenticity of the Holy Sepulchre, but later accepted it, and became 
its ardent defender. 

Fonck next mentions the theory first put forth by Thenius in 1849, and afterwards 
adopted by General Gordon, and in general by the Protestant world, that the real Cal- 
vary is the hill in whose side is the so called Grotto of Jeremiah. In the Talmud the 
place of execution of blasphemers is called "Beth hassequila," "the place of stoning," 
and the tradition of the Jews now at Jerusalem is that it was a hill outside the city 
walls to the north. The aforesaid hill now called "The Calvary of Gordon" corre- 
sponds to the tradition of the Jews. Fonck grants the probability of the location at 
the Calvary of Gordon of the "place of stoning"; he denies that the conclusion may 
thence be drawn that Christ was there crucihed. His argument here is very weak. 
He believes it unlikely that the Romans executed Jesus at the Jews' "place of ston- 
ing." He asks how all memory of this place of stoning was lost in the epoch of Con- 
stantine; and how Constantine and all his co-laborers were deceived in the location of 
the Sepulchre. He concludes the paragraph by declaring that if one rejects the pres- 
ent traditional Sepulchre, the only reasonable theory to hold is that no man knows 
where the Holy Sepulchre and Golgotha are. 

Fonck next asserts that Constantine must have had a knowledge of the true loca- 
tion of Golgotha and the Holy Sepulchre. He accepts the theory that heathen temples 
placed by Hadrian over Golgotha and the Sepulchre marked their sites; he believes 
also that possibly some Christians at Jerusalem may have handed down the tradition 
from the beginning. 

The next paragraph of Father Fonck is of great importance. This is the exact 
version of his words: "From an accurate examination of the data which the earliest 
historians give us concerning the finding of the Holy Sepulchre, it cannot be denied 



74 



Fonck's Theory 



of the Holy Sepulchre 



that from the tradition then existing no certain knowledge could be obtained of the 
real site of Golgotha and the Sepulchre. On this account all the writers emphasize 
the difficulty of the discovery. Eusebius especially lays great stress on the fact that 
Constantine was moved by a special inspiration of God to undertake the search for 
Golgotha, and the Sepulchre, and that contrary to all human hope, Constantine found 
the Holy Septilchre. — Vita Const. III. 28. 

Constantine himself explicitly states in his letter to Macarius, then bishop of 
Jerusalem, that "the Sepulchre long ago buried under-ground had remained unknown 
for many cycles of years." And again that "the sacred spot under divine direction 
he had relieved from the disgraceful adjunct of an idol." This does away with the 
pretentions of those who assert that the knowledge of the place of the Sepulchre had 
been preserved in Christian traditions. 

Fonck draws the conclusion: "From the words of Constantine himself, and 
from the testimonies of his contemporaries we must accept that Constantine received 
the knowledge of the sites of Calvary and the Holy Sepulchre from an inspiration 
of God." 

Fonck begins the third part of his article with these words: "It follows therefore 
that no reasonable ground entitles a man to doubt of the authenticity of the Holy 
Sepulchre." He next mentions a work written by the late Dr. E. M. Clos, and pub- 
lished by Rev. S. Schmid at Kempten in 1898. The work is entitled "The Cross and 
Sepulchre of Jesus." It this work Dr. Clos defends the theory that Constantine built 
the Church of the Resurrection over the Holy Sepulchre, and that it was situated 
about five hundred and fifty feet south of the place of the Crucifixion on Calvary. Dr. 
Clos also believes that Constantine built the Basilika of the Crucifixion on Calvary 
itself. Thus the two basilikas of Constantine would be separated by a distance of 550 
feet. After the Persians had destroyed Jerusalem in 614, Dr. Clos holds that the 
patriarch Modestus cut the Holy Sepulchre out of the rock and transferred it to the site 
of the high altar of the basilika of the Crucifixion where it is now venerated. Thus 
in Dr. Clos' theory the present Church of the Holy Sepulchre is on the site of Calvary, 
and contains the Holy Sepulchre brought thither by Modestus. Fonck rejects this 
theory. He believes that the mosaic chart of Jerusalem found at Madaba renders 
Clos' theory untenable. The mosaic chart of Madaba dates before the destruction 
of Jerusalem by the Persians, and in that chart the two churches built by Constantine, 
the church of the Crucifixion and the church of the Resurrection, are within one enclosure. 

The next paragraph of Fonck is the main reason of my present review of his 
article. Thus he writes: "Whether , in a somewhat similar sense, to admit a distinc- 
tion between the Holy Sepulchre's present location and its original site would contra- 
tradict the testimonies of the early witnesses. I leave to more competent judges to 
decide. I shall only briefly call attention to a few statements which perhaps should 
be considered in rendering this judgment." Fonck then cites the Fourteenth Cate- 
chesis of Cyril of Jerusalem. Cyril's words are as follows: "But where is the rock 
that had in it the cave? Does it lie near the middle of the city, or near the walls and 
the outskirts? And whether is it within the ancient walls, or within the outer walls 
which were built afterwards? He says then in the Canticle; in a cave of the rock 
close to the outer wall." Cat. XIV. 9. Fonck seems to understand Cyril to say: "in 
a cave of the rock outside the wall." But at all events Cyril's testimony is conclusive 
against the present traditional site of the Sepulchre. The present site is nearly in the 
middle of the Jerusalem of Cyril's day, and by no means near the outer wall. 



Foxck's Theory of the Holy Selulchre 



7.5 



Fonck then continues: "From these words of Cyril, it seems that the real rock- 
tomb out of which the Lord arose was by Constantine's builders cut away; and that 
the rock wherein was this rock-tomb was in Cyril's time outside the walls in the manor 
outside the fortress." Fonck calls attention to the seeming contradiction between 
Cyril and Sozomen; since the latter (Hist. Eccl. II. i) declares that Hadrian had 
enclosed within his wall the holy monuments which Constantine afterwards enclosed 
within the precincts of his basilika. Fonck remarks that the contradiction vanishes 
if we suppose that Constantine cut the Holy Sepulchre out of the rock and placed it 
in the basilika of the Resurrection. It is certain that it involves no absurdity to sap- 
pose that Constantine may have cut the Holy Sepulchre out of the rock, and may have 
transferred it to another place. The place where Christ was laid was a shelf -grave 
cut into the side of the rock chamber of the tomb. It would not be a difficult task 
to cut a portion of this rock shelf from the live rock, and carry it to another place. 
We say this not in the sense that we accept the hypothesis of Fonck; but to show 
that it is unjust to reject such hypothesis on the ground that it is absurd. 

Fonck next makes the following most judicious reflection: "Constantine in the 
Basihka of the Nativity at Bethlehem enclosed in its natural state not only the Manger, 
but the whole cave; why therefore should he cut away and destroy the rock in which 
was the Holy Sepulchre, if we suppose that in the beginning it occupied the present 
site?" Fonck declares that the words of Cyril can only mean that the cutting of the 
rock of the Sepulchre was necessary for the construction of the church; which he ex- 
plains in the supposition that Constantine wished to locate Calvary and the Sepulchre 
within one precinct. Fonck explains the silence of Eusebius concerning the transfer 
of the Holy Sepulchre, on the supposition that the work wherein Eusebius treats ex 
professo of the Holy Sepulchre is lost. He closes his article with the declaration that 
he leaves to others to judge of the hypothesis; he is content that the pilgrims who 
for fifteen hundred years have journeyed to Jerusalem have venerated the authentic 
Holy Sepulchre. 

Following the article of Fonck, Dr. Grotemeyer-Surenburg wrote an article which 
ran through two numbers of the Wissenschaftliche Beilage zur Germania. The first 
article appeared in the issue of September 29, 1897 ; the other in the following number, 
October 6. 

Dr. Grotemeyer-Surenburg acknowledges that Fonck's article occasioned his writ- 
ing. In his first article he examines the so called Revelations of Katherine Emmerich 
concerning the Holy Sepulchre. He gives absolute credence to these re\ T elations as 
written by Brentano; and he therefore concludes that the original place of the Holv 
Sepulchre was on the slope of the hill that slopes down from the wall of the city to the 
south and close by the present Jaffa Gate. He ignorantly declares that this hill slopes 
down to the valley of Gihon, wherein he locates the Birket-es-Sultan. Gihon is down 
east of the city, and its waters formed the pool of Siloah. No man who has intelli- 
gently examined the topography of Jerusalem, or who has in any wise studied the 
question of the Holy Sepulchre, can regard the revelations of Katherine Emmerich 
as aught but the vain dream of a fervid imagination. The narrow p'ortion of ground 
between the Jaffa road and the western wall of the city is a steep ugly hill of earth, 
by its nature and position most unfit for the rich Joseph of Arimathsea's garden and 
tomb. Moreover the description of the Holy Sepulchre given by Katherine Emmerich 
agrees not with any manner of tombs found in Palestine. 



76 



Conder's Theory of the Holy Sepulchre 



In his second article Grotemever-Surenburg endeavors to show an agreement 
between Cyril of Jerusalem and Katherine Emmerich. This article is equally phan- 
tastic and worthless. 

In 1898 Carl Mommert of Schweinitz published his " Die heilige Grabeskirche zu 
Jerusalem.'' Fonck favorably reviewed the work in the Zeitschrift fur Katholische 
Theologie, third quarter, 1899, pp. 513-514. Mommert refutes the theory of 
Clos regarding the site of Constantine's basilika; and Fonck agrees with Mommert, and 
calls attention to the fact that he had already condemned Clos' theory. But Fonck 
here again insists on the possibility that the original site of the Holy Sepulchre was 
somewhat removed from its present location. He declares again that the Fourteenth 
Catechesis of Cyril of Jerusalem seems to prove this; and he calls attention to the 
corroboration of his hypothesis by the article of Grotemever-Surenburg. 

It is regrettable that Fonck did not recognize the absurdity of Grotemeyer-Suren- 
burg's article. But Grotemever-Surenburg had been his former professor; and a 
certain respect for even the doting opinions of his old professor is pardonable. But 
certainly Fonck by no means, merited the criticism which the Ecole Biblique of the 
Dominicans at Jerusalem passed on him in the Revue Biblique of the year 1901, pp. 
647-648. After a certain amount of vituperation concerning the tomb of the Blessed 
Virgin, Pore Vincent speaks thus of Father Fonck: "To establish better the authen- 
ticity of the Holy Sepulchre, he (Father Fonck) recently undertook to dislodge it from 
the Basilika where Constantine enclosed it, and remove it a few hundred metres thence, 
outside the ramparts to the rock where the emperor (Constantine) caused it to be cut 
out of the rock; a strange operation, well calculated to cause a certain sensation of fear 
in many souls. Moreover the proofs alleged for this transfer are the weakest: a 
doubtful interpretation of some passages taken from St. Cyril, describing the Tomb 
of the Saviour in the Canticle of canticles. That which is most piquant is to observe 
that the testimony of Catherine Emmerich is here also a proof , perhaps the principal 
•one for the Reverend Father. In fact, after his ( Fonck 's) article, Dr. Grotemever- 
Surenburg, having devoted a long article in the same periodical to demonstrate the 
perfect accord between Catherine Emmerich and St. Cyril in this question, the Rev- 
erend Father Fonck seized the occasion to declare that he found therein a new support 
of his theory." Pere Vincent has here written untruthfully, hi the Ecole Biblique,. 
in the classroom while I was present, he spoke more untruthfully, and with more vitupera- 
tion. His forte is raillery. He writes obscurely, and always by innuendo he seeks 
to bring ridicule upon his opponent. There is much of this in the French character. 
Fonck 's treatment of the hypothesis of the transfer of the Holy Sepulchre is most con- 
servative and fitting. Far better Fonck 's theories than the views of the narrow- 
souled professors of the Ecole Biblique, whose attitude towards the Holy Sepulchre is 
actuated by policy. 

In the Palestine Exploration Fund Quarterly statement of 1881 Captain Conder 
describes a tomb which he discovered in a field a little west of the Damascus road 
as it passes by the present Church of St. Stephen. He describes it as follows: 

"Still more interesting is a discovery which I made about a week ago, of an indis- 
putably Jewish tomb immediately west of the knoll in question. It has only recently 
been opened, and has not been as yet described, I believe, by any visitor. It is cut in 
the east face of a very curious rock platform measuring about seventy paces either 
way — as shown on the Ordnance Survey, about 200 yards west of the grotto. The 
platform is roughly scarped on all sides, in an apparently artificial manner, and on the 



Gordon's Theory of the Holy Sepulchre 



west is a higher piece of rock, also with sides rudely scarped. The rest of the space 
is fairly level, but there seems to be traces of the foundations of a surrounding wall 
in some low mounds near the edge of the platform >J have long been av\-are of the exist- 
ence of a curious cistern in the northeast comer of this scarp. It has a domed roof 
with a man -hole, and also a door with a passage ten feet long and three feet wide, lead- 
ing out eastwards. The cistern is about eight paces in diameter, and three steps lead 
down from the door to the level of the cistern floor. This excavation seems originally 
to have been a chamber afterwards converted into a cistern, and there are sockets for 
the door-hinges and for bolts in the passage entrance. 

"'The ancient tomb is some thirty paces further south, and the entrance is also 
from the east. The whole is very rudely cut in rock, which is of inferior quality. The 
doorway is much broken, and there is a loophole or window, four feet wide, either side 
of the door. The outer court, cut in the rock, is seven feet square, and two stones are 
so placed in this as to give the idea that they may have held in place a rolling-stone 
before the door. On the right (or north) is a side entrance, leading into a chamber 
with a single loculus, and thence into a cave, some eight paces square and ten feet high, 
with a well-mouth in the roof. 

"The chamber within the tomb entrance is reached by a descent of two steps, and 
measures six feet by nine feet. From either side wall, and from the back wall is an 
entrance twenty inches wide and about five and one-half feet high, leading into a side 
chamber. A passage runs in continuation of .each entrance for four and one-half feet, 
and on each side is a bench about two and one-half feet wide and two and one-fourth 
feet high. A similar bench occurs at the end, the whole width of each chamber being 
thus five and one-half feet, its length seven feet two inches, and its height from five feet 
to six feet. Each would contain two bodies lying beside the passage, but there would 
scarcely be room for three. In addition to these three chambers, there are two exca- 
vations on the floor-level, in the further comer of the central chamber. They are 
about five feet square, with narrow entrances, and were scattered with human bones 
at the time of my visit. 

'"The discovery of this tomb is of no little importance in connection with Jerusa- 
lem topograph}". If it be compared with the great cemetery at Sheikh Ibreik, and 
with the monument of Helena at Jerusalem, it will be seen to belong to the later Jewish 
period — the centuries immediately preceding the Christian era. It is not a Christian 
tomb, so far as can be judged: for the Christians in Palestine seem mainly to have used 
the "rock-sunk" tomb. A cemetery of tombs of the form commonly used by the 
Crusaders, was found in 1873 near the north-east angle of the Jerusalem city walls, but 
no Jewish tomb has ever been found before so close to the ramparts of the modem city 
on the north: the next nearest being the tomb discovered in 1873. about 300 yards 
further north. 

"It would be bold to hazard the suggestion that the single Jewish sepulchre thus 
found is indeed the tomb in the garden, nigh unto the place called Golgotha, which 
belonged to the rich Joseph of Arimathaea ; .yet its appearance so near the old place 
of execution, and so far from the other tombs in the old cemeteries of the city, is ex- 
tremely remarkable." 

This attracted attention for a time, and was marked on maps as the Holv Sepul- 
chre of Conder: but it has now fallen into oblivion. 

A more famous conjecture is that which points out the hill above Jeremiah's 
Grotto as the place of the Crucifixion. The crest of this hill now a Muhammadan 



78 



Skull Hill 



Cemetery is often called "Skull Hill." It is also called "the Protestant Calvary,' 
the "English Calvary," or "Gordon's Calvary." 

If we turn to the right eastward, after coming a little way out of the Damascus 
Gate in the northern wall of Jerusalem we pass down through a great cut in the 
rock. The distance between the two scarps is about 400 feet. 

In the face of the southern scarp is the entrance to the extensive underground 
quarries which penetrate to a vast distance under the city. They are called by Jose- 
phus the "Royal Caverns." In the side of the northern scarp is the mouth of the 
old quarry, known now as Jeremiah's Grotto from a legend that there he composed his 




GROTTO OF JEREMIAH 

Lamentations. The crest of the hill slopes down gently towards St. Stephen's Church. 
The Muhammadans have placed on this hill a cemetery, and access to it is difficult. 
The Protestants regard the hill with great veneration. They used to hold services 
here; but the Muhammadans have lately prohibited this. The famous Gen. Gordcn, 
the martyr of Khartoum, accepted this hill as the true site of Calvary. His views 
appear in the Palestine Exploration Fund Quarterly Statement for 1885, page 79, in 
Reflections in Palestine, and in private letters. Gordon's endorsement of the hill gave 
it great credit with the unlearned. Any one reading his views on this subject will 
be persuaded that his mind was failing when he wrote. He defends the site by mystic 
reasons which the most ardent disciple of the Alexandrian school would reject. He 



Skull Hill 



79 



evinces much piety; but his mind wanders incoherently over a mass of pious imagina- 
tions. The absurdity of Gordon's reasons and the like absurdity of the reasons of 
some who have followed him brought the contempt of archaeologists upon the site. It 
is absurd to fancy the resemblance to the eyes, and mouth of a skull in the wall of the 
quarried rock wherein are caves, since the present face of the rock is the result of 
quarrying which was continued down to the time of the crusades. 

Setting aside these fantastic opinions, from much personal observation, we be- 
lieve that the knoll presented in the days of Christ such a contour, that it might have 
been called "The Skull;" or it might have been called the Skull from the finding there of 
a human skull. The prominence of the knoll, and its skull-shaped figure is especially 




THE FACE OF THE ROCK OF JEREMIAH'S GROTTO 



revealed to one who walks up from the Garden of Gethsemane along the north wall of 
the city. 

The knoll is simply a possible site among many possible sites of the Crucifixion. 

Some have endeavored to support the claims of "Skull Hill" by alleging that the 
Jews placed there the Beth-ha-Sequilah, "the place of stoning." This is of no avail. It 
is simply a Jewish canard perpetrated on some credulous Protestants by the wily 
Jews. 

Associated with "Skull Hill" is what is called Gordon's Holy Sepulchre. This 
spurious tomb is thus described by Schick in the Palestine Exploration Fund Quart- 
erly Statement for 1892, pages 120-123: 



80 Gordon's " Holy Sepulchre " 

"According to instructions received I have prepared 'plan and sections' of the 
tomb which the late General Gordon believed to be that of Christ, situated near Jere- 
miah's Grotto, on the western foot of the so-called 'Skull-hill.' The tomb is 860 feet 
in a straight line distant from the Damascus Gate, and 280 feet east of the main road 
going north, generally called the Nabulus Road. It is a rock-cut cave ; the entrance is in 
a perpendicular rock-scarped wall. 

"The tomb was originally a rather small, rock-cut Jewish tomb, but became after- 
wards a Christian tomb; not only by its being used again, but by being greatly altered. 
As it is now it is a specific Christian tomb, exactly like some which are found on Mount 
Olivet, and especially at the Khirbet Mird, four hours distant east of Jerusalem, in the 




SUMMIT OF GORDON'S CALVARY 



neighborhood of Mar Saba, which certainly are of the fifth century after Christ, at the 
time when at Khirbet Mird there existed a Laura, and later a convent of Euthymios. 
So this tomb, as it is now shaped, is from the fifth or sixth century, A.D. Jewish 
tombs have always a comparatively small entrance, and the places for the dead bodies 
are arranged so that each one is by itself; but the Christian tombs are arranged col- 
lectively; the departed were brethren, so they are united also in the silent chamber. 

"This tomb, of which so much is now spoken and written, was discovered (if I 
am right) in the year 1867, and I was one of the first who saw it. The proprietor of the 
ground, a native Greek, came one day to me, stating that he found an interesting 



Gordons' "Holy Sepulchre" 



81 



'cave' with a cross in it, and asked me to come and see and give my opinion about it. 
So I went there, and found that the rubbish and made earth, which was about five feet 
deep, had been removed for a short distance along the rockscarp wall, so that, an open- 
ing (or rather two — the door and the window) was visible, through which 
we could creep into a kind of cave of moderate size, filled to within about two feet of the 
roof with skulls and other bones and mould. On the east wall I observed a cross made 
with red paint, and at the four corners were Greek letters. We left the place, and when 
coming out I saw in the rubbish and earth a skeleton of a man in its whole length, 
lying three feet under the surface of the ground. The proprietor said he thought of 
making a cistern of the cave, and asked me whether this was advisable or not. 1 




THE ROYAL CAVERNS 



said: 'No, for here is apparently a former cemetery, and to make a cistern into such is 
not advisable. I would leave things as they are, and stop up the hole, and fill up the 
trench again.' But the man, very likely in the hope of finding some treasure, cleared 
out the whole cave; so when after a few months I came there again I found the skeleton 
still in its place, but the whole cave empty, and that there were four or five troughs or 
Christian graves, formed by stone .only two and one-half to three inches thick, 
and about seven feet long, and three feet six inches high, inserted in narrow grooves; 
also it now appeared that the cave consisted of two chambers. From the doorwav, 
which is five feet high, and two feet four inches wide, two steps lead downwards into 
the first chamber, which is ten feet long, nearly eight feet wide, and six feet six inches 



82 



Gordon's " Holy Sepulchre 



high. It has only one trough grave on its northern side. On the eastern side is a door 
in the wall, which latter does not go up to the ceiling, but only as high as the trough 
graves are, and this is the reason that at my first visit, when the place was full of mould, 
I could not see that there were two chambers. From this door three steps lead down 
into the second chamber. In this chamber were three trough graves and a central 
chamber, which was originally simply the place where people could stand when they 
brought the dead bodies to be laid in one of these troughs. These troughs are very 
much too large for one body (being from three to four feet wide, and two and one-half 
to three feet deep), and they were apparently intended to be filled with a number of 
bodies; and when the troughs were full, the standing place was also filled, and so on, 




ENTRANCE TO GORDON'S "HOLY SEPULCHRE 



till no more could be brought in. This way of burying dead bodies is even now prac- 
tised by the Muhammadans. The proprietor of the ground died about the year 1870, 
and his widow sold the ground. Nothing more was done there except that some of the 
slabs were removed, and very likely utilised elsewhere. In 1883 General Gordon saw 
the tomb, and according to his 'skull idea' considered it to be the tomb of Christ. 
"I have to add a few remarks more: 

"(a) The trough 1 is not only the largest, but has at the bottom of the east end a 
recess, and at the opposite, or west end, is slanting, which is not the case in the others. 

"(b) The thin stone slabs inserted as partitions were fitted into grooves cut into 
the rock. 



The Church of St. Etiexxe 



83 



"(c) At the entrance door the holes for the pivots of the wooden or iron door are 
clearly seen, and it appears that this door could be locked. 

"I think the original Jewish opening was small, and afterwards, in the Christian 
time enlarged, at which period the arched window was hewn, in order to have the neces- 
sary light inside; and that later, when the caves were already half filled with dead 
bodies, the window was enlarged by lowering, so as to form a kind of door, as may be 
clearly seen. Still later, when the tombs became rifled, the rock wall between the 
two openings was broken away. This was open when I first saw it , and remained so 
till recently, when the opening was filled up with masonrv. 




G0RD0XS "HOLY SEPULCHRE' 



"(d) On the western side of the main door there are, on the surface of the rock 
wall, two recesses; the smaller has a square form, the larger is arched at the top. 

'•(e) If the door was at that time as large and high as now — which the advocates 
of this tomb being the tomb of Christ generally believe— how could a great stone be 
rolled before the entrance, when the latter was so large and so high above the ground 5 " 

It is one of the most debased in type of all the Jewish rock-cut tombs around 
Jerusalem; and could never have been the tomb of the rich Joseph of Arimathaea. The 
Protestants pay it much veneration; one woman passed a whole night in it. They 
have purchased a tract of land in front of it, and inclosing it; and have converted it 
into a garden. 



84 The Church of St. Ettenne 

The keeper of the outer gate of the garden is an Arab; the keeper of 
the tomb is an old Dane. Thousands visit it every year. I often visited it, and each 
time was more and more persuaded that the dingy hole with its large ditch graves 
was not the tomb of the rich Joseph of Arimathaea. 

Proceeding northward from the Bab el -Ahmud, or Damascus Gate, at about 400 
yards from the Gate we come to the gate in the high walls enclosing the present Church 
of St. Stephen, and the Biblical School attached to it. It is the property of the Domin- 
ican Monks; the site of the Ecole Biblique; the residence of Pere Lagrange, the head 
of the school, and editor of the Revue Biblique. 

In the year 1882, a shoemaker of the Greek Schismatic church discovered in this 
his property a few ruins of an ancient church. The manner of the discovery was thus: 

"In an uneven field, which rose considerably above-the land about it, parts of which 
field appeared like little hillocks, the owner of the soil tried to maintain a vegetable 
garden; but the ground was so dry that neither grain nor vegetables would flourish, 
and even irrigation did little or no good; besides, here and there.large holes appeared in 
the ground, which could not be accounted for. At last the owner determined to dig 
and see what there was below the surface of his field ; and to his surprise he very soon 
came upon fine walls and a pavement. The excavations being followed up have laid 
bare a church with some of the surrounding buildings. 

The amount of debris which had accumulated above the floor of these buildings 
was ten to twenty feet in depth." 

At that time Pere Matthieu of the Dominican Order was seeking to found a 
house of the Dominicans at Jerusalem; and his eyes were turned to the site of the ruined 
church. By the aid of the converted Jew Pere Marie -Alphonse Ratisbonne and 
the French Consul M. Langlois, the Dominican Father Pere Matthieu Lecomte pur- 
chased about an acre and a quarter of land, whereon he hoped to find the ruins of St. 
Stephen's Church. The Price paid was 45,500 francs. Rarely has land in the East 
been sold at such a great price. The seller was excommunicated by his coreligionists 
for having transferred a reputed sanctuary into the hands of the hated Latins. 

It may be said in passing that both Pere Matthieu and the Consul Langlois are 
buried in the rock-hewn tombs of St. Stephen's. 

Excavations were soon begun but proceeded slowly, and with interruptions. 

The excavations laid bare the ruins of a large church with mosaic floor, and a large 
series of rock-hewn tombs. I shall employ Schick's description of these tombs, first 
published in 1886 in the Zeitschrift of the German Society: 

"For some years the "Battlefield" with the neighboring ground west and north of 
the Jeremiah Grotto has been the property of the Dominican Order; houses have been 
built there, the ground examined, and a high division wall erected on the road by the 
side of the hill of the Jeremiah Grotto. 

When the foundations .of this latter were dug, some tombs were discovered in the 
rock which had to be more closely examined and cleared, as the line of the proposed 
wall was to go straight across them. Their size was so great that it seemed 
desirable to preserve them in their entirety, and as they subsequently turned out from 
their hewn crosses to be Christian tombs, the Order regarded their preservation as a 
duty, and proposed to build a Sanctuary for them later on. The tombs were cleared 
out, and the bones carefully collected and interred in a suitable place. The place itself 
was covered by a protecting building." 



The Tombs at St. Etiexxe 



85 



The exact position of these tombs outside of Jerusalem is as follows : — 
You go northwards for 245 metres from the Damascus Gate on the road lead- 
ing to Xabulus. You come to a gate leading into St. Stephen's Church. The Church 
is situated about the middle of a large garden, and the tombs are round about on 
every side. 

"The tombs are entirely hewn out of the rock, and only in a few places, obviously 
at a later period, has masonry been added. Undoubtedly the tombs originally were 
of much greater extent, but have been destroyed by excavations carried on in the west. 
On closer inspection one easily recognizes that their origin dates from the Jewish era, 
and they do not in any way differ from the Jewish rock-tombs so frequently found in 
Palestine, and especially in the country surrounding Jerusalem. 

After their partial destruction, and possibly complete desecration, they were used 
by Christians as places of interment, and were considerably enlarged. I arrive at this 
from the fact that these enlargements have been carried out in a different style, and 
exhibit not only crosses cut into the rock, but also in high relief hewn out of the rock. 
The former might have been cut into the already standing wall surface ; the latter could 
only have been added if the rock was newly manipulated or new vaults built. Also in 
several places the doors have been subsequently made larger and notably higher. 

The great vault with its side chambers is genuinely Jewish. It is 5-30 metres long, 
430 metres broad, and 3-60 metres high. The walls are smooth, the ceilings horizontal, 
and the doors much higher than usual, being, namely, i - 8o metres. The antechamber, 
going west, is 2-50 metres long, 2-30 metres broad, and, like the other side chambers, 
2-30 metres high. It had suffered from the above-mentioned destruction, but was later 
restored with masonry and filled with tombs sunk into the ground. The side chambers 
which lean to the west, have been preserved in their entirety, each having three stone 
benches for the reception of the corpses. The place for the head was marked by a 
cushion -like elevation, formed out of the rock, into which a half-round hollow was 
hewn. The longer benches had this on both ends. Whether they were meant to serve 
for two corpses, or whether one could have the choice upon which side to lay the head, 
cannot be determined. The benches were 1 m. high, with the upper surface slightly 
hollowed and furnished in front with a low edge to prevent anything rolling off. Under 
the dividing wall and the contiguous stone benches of the side chambers there is an 
apartment hewn in the rock, which serves as a common grave. Towards the east there 
are likewise two side chambers, of which the southern, however, is only a passage to a 
third, and which has one sepulchre only. 

Another curious discovery made in 1887 was a trench which is cut 14 feet deep 
in the rock, runs 44 feet in a northerly direction, then turns at a right angle towards 
the east, and at a distance of 29 feet makes another turn towards the south, in which 
course it runs for 44 feet, and then turning westward for 29 feet joins the southern end 
of the portion first described, thus enclosing a solid mass of rock, measuring some 40 
feet by 25 feet. The groove is less than 3 feet wide. Schick believed that the groove 
was made with the intent to make a cistern, and, at the same time, to quarrv stone. 

To the south of this another rock cutting was found 16 feet deep with irregular 
outline averaging about 36 long by 27 feet wide. Lagrange holds that the cement on 
the walls of rock gives evidence that it had servedas a cistern, but he holdsthat originally 
it was a funerary crypt. The curious fact that it extends into the sanctuary of the 
ancient church leads him to suppose that it was the crypt made for the relics of Saint 



80 



Mosaic at St. Etienne 



Stephen. In the present church a portion of this trench has been made into a con- 
fessional of Saint Stephen, and his altar is a part of the living rock of its side. 

Several Christian funerary inscriptions were found in the ruins; but they are so 
mutilated that their decipherment is doubtful. The most interesting is that of 
Deacon Nonnus, which Lagrange restores to read thus: 

"THE PRIVATE TOMB OF THE DEACON NONNUS, SERVANT OF THE 
HOLY ANASTASIS OF CHRIST AND OF THIS MONASTERY. The reading is 
ingenious but doubtful. If it were proven genuine, it would be a subsidiary proof 
that the site of the Resurrection was close by this point. 




MOSAIC LAMB 

When I was at Saint Stephen's, I was moved to believe that the spot was the 
ancient garden of Joseph of Arimathaea. Its situation exactly corresponds with the 
Gospel narration. It is true that no tomb among the many here has been identified 
as the Tomb of Christ. But who can tell what the earth still hides from human view? 
Who can tell what may have happened to obliterate the tomb of Christ ? Thus far 
Divine Providence has left the tomb of Christ hidden; and perhaps thus it may 
remain. 

"The most interesting of the mosaics was found in a small court outside the church. 
The flooring round about is of flag stones, and in the center is a piece of fine mosaic 
formed of small cubical stones of various colors. The mosaic is 14 feet 6 inches long 
and 7 feet 3 inches wide. It has a framework formed of two rows of black then two 
rows of white, one row of red and one row of black cubes. Inside this frame, and in 



Place of Stoning of St. Stephen 



87 



a diagonal direction, are straight lines, of one black, one white, and one red stone form- 
ing quadrangular spaces, whose sides are about 8 inches long, not with regular angles 
but so that they are longer than wide. In the middle of each space is a kind of rosette 
or star. And in the middle of the whole is a circular band of black, red, and white 
stones, with four rosettes at equal distances. Inside this round band is an animal, 
some thinking it to represent a gazelle, on account of its long legs; others call it a lamb 
on account of its full body and the full long tail." It can hardly be doubted that 
this is the figure of the Lamb of God. 

Considerable portions of -the mosaic pavement of the ancient Church have been 
found; and are preserved in situ in the present church. In fact the present church is 
an attempt to restore the ancient church. This design was aided by the discovery of 
some of the bases of the ancient church showing that it was three aisled. A portion 
of the apse was also discovered, and many fragments of columns and capitals, one 
of which has a small Latin cross in relief. 

The Dominicans confidently believe that their Church of St. Stephen is built on 
the place of his stoning. There are two questions confused here. One thing is to 
determine whether the modern Church stands on the site of the Church built in honor 
of St. Stephen by Eudocia. This is possible; but by no means certain. The traditions 
relating to the scene of Stephen's martyrdom, the place of his burial, and the church 
erected in his honor, are so contradictory that it will be convenient to bring together 
some of the more important notices before discussing the position of the church pointed 
out by tradition as St. Stephen's. 

The only statement in the Bible which bears upon the subject is that Stephen was 
cast out of the city and stoned (Acts vii. 58); the scene of the martyrdom must there- 
fore be looked for outside the first and second walls of Jerusalem, for the third had not 
then been built. 

According to tradition, the chief priests did not wish Stephen to be buried; and 
his body lay for a da} 7 and a night on the spot where he was stoned, outside the gate, 
on the north, which leads to Cedar. Gamaliel then took the body to Caphar Gamala, 
and buried it in a loculus on the eastern side of a new tomb. As years rolled on, the 
site was forgotten, and it remained unknown until Gamaliel appeared in a dream to 
Lucian, the priest of the village, and revealed to him the position of his own tomb, 
and of those of his son Abibas, of St. Stephen, and of Nicodemus. The tombs were 
opened on the 18th or 19th December, 415, in the presence of the Bishops of Jerusalem, 
Sebaste, and Jericho; when that of St. Stephen was opened the earth trembled, a de- 
licious perfume filled the air, and many sick were restored to health. The body of 
the proto-martyr hadcrumbled to dust, but his bones were found, and these were 
carried, with much pomp, to Jerusalem, where they were placed in the mother of all 
churches on Mount Sion. Afterwards the relics are said to have been removed to a 
church built for their reception and endowed by Alexander, a councillor of the city, 
who on his death was buried near them. The invention and translation of the relics 
of St. Stephen was one of the most memorable events in the ecclesiastical history of 
the fifth century; Sozomen mentions it, and Lucian's narrative, attested by Augustine 
and Gennadius, was extensively circulated and widely believed. 

In 439 the Empress Eudocia, during her first visit to Jerusalem, commenced the 
erection of a large and beautiful memorial church on the place of Stephen's martyrdom, 
which was not quite a stadium (600 feet) from the city; she afterwards endowed the 
church, and appointed Gabriel, a monk of the Laura of Euthymius, superior of the 



88 



Place of Stoxixg of St. Stephen 



monastery that seems to have been attached to it. The church, still unfinished, was 
consecrated on the 15th of January, 460, and four months afterwards the Empress died 
and was buried within its walls. The church and monastery must have been of con- 
siderable size, for in 518 St. Sabbas and his numerous disciples assembled in the Church 
of St. Stephen, the cathedral Church of the Resurrection being incapable of receiving 
so vast a multitude. Theodosius (circ. 530) states that Stephen was stoned outside 
the gate of Galilee, and that there was a church on the spot, which had been built bv 
•Eudocia, wife of the Emperor Theodosius. He also mentions a Gate of St. Stephen, 
without indicating its position, and a stone with which Stephen was stoned that was 




A HALT IN THE DESERT 

kept in the Church of St. Sion. The next pilgrim, Antoninus (circ. 570), says that 
Eudocia built the basilica and tomb of St. Stephen, and that her own tomb was next 
to, and six paces distant from, that of St. Stephen. The tomb was a bowshot beyond 
the Gate of St. Stephen on the road, to the west, which went down to Joppa, Csesarea 
Palestine?, and Diospolis. In the basilica of St. Sion Antoninus saw manv stones 
with which Stephen was stoned. Evagrius says that the church was at least a stadium 
from the north wall of Jerusalem. 

Between 570 and 670, probably during the Persian invasion, the Church and 
Monastery of St. Stephen were completely destroyed, and the scene of the martyrdom 
was transferred to Sion. At a later date, the rock without the city upon which 
Stephen was stoned was shown to Arculfus in a chapel attached to the basilica on Mount 



Place of Stoning of St. Stephen 



89 



Sion ; whilst at the same time a gate in the north wall retained the name of the proto- 
martyr. Willibald (723-726) venerated the archdeacon and proto-martyr Stephen in 
the Church of Mount Sion, to which place his remains had been translated. About 
808 there were two clerks and fifteen lepers in the Church or Monastery of St. Stephen 
at the place where he was stoned; and there was also a chapel of St. Stephen in the 
Valley of Jehoshaphat, which appears to have been connected with the Church of St. 
Mary, and was probably one of the numerous memorial chapels on the lower slopes of 
Olivet. A church in honor of St. Stephen, which was believed to stand on the spot 
where he was stoned, was shown to Bernhard (circ. 870) to the east of the Church of 
St. Simeon on Mount Sion, and between that church and the Church of St. Peter. In 
the tract ' Qualiter sita est civ. Jerusalem,' written before the capture of the city, 
Stephen is said to have been stoned outside the gate on the north side. 

In 1099 the Crusaders found on the north side of the city a Church or Oratory of 
St. Stephen, which was probably then in ruins, on the spot where the martyr was stoned 
without the walls; and the Counts of Normandy and Flanders camped near it during 
the siege. Sfewulf (1102) in his description of the church on Sion says, 'There the 
relics of St. Stephen, Nicodemus, Gamaliel, and Abibo were honorably deposited by 
St. John the Patriarch after they were found. The stoning of St. Stephen took place 
about two or three arbalist-shots without the wall, to the north, where a very handsome 
church was built, which has been entirely destroyed by the Pagans.' Raimond de 
Agiles, chaplain to the Count of Toulouse,. also says that the tomb of St. Stephen was 
in the Church of Sion. The Russian Abbot Daniel was shown the church and tomb of 
St. Stephen at the place where he was stoned outside the north wall of the city. 

John of Wurzburg (1 130) places the scene of Stephen's martyrdom and burial out- 
side the western (Jaffa) gate, and says that the body was afterwards translated to 
Sion, and buried between Nicodemus, Gamaliel, and Abibon; his ' Gate of St. Stephen,' 
however, appears to have been the present Damascus gate. Phocas (1185) says that 
Stephen was buried at the spot where Christ appeared to the disciples after the resur- 
rection in the church on Sion. William of Tyre (1182-85) gives the same tradition, 
and states that the 'Gate of St. Stephen,' near which the martyr was stoned, was on 
the north side of the city. From the capture of the city by the Muslims in 1187 to 
the middle of the sixteenth century, the tomb of St. Stephen was shown on Mount 
Sion; and as late as 1673 a large stone above the door of the Ccenaculum was pointed 
out as that upon which the proto-martyr was killed. 

During the Latin occupation of Jerusalem there was a difference of opinion as to 
the spot where St. Stephen was stoned; John of Wurzburg (1130) and Eugesippus 
(1140) place it outside the west (Jaffa) Gate; whilst Saewulf, Raimond de Agiles, 
William of Tyre, the author of 'La Citez de Iherusalem,'andothers,placeitoutsidethe 
north (Damascus) Gate. A few years before the fall of the city there was certainly a 
Church of St. Stephen, and perhaps a monastery, outside the Damascus Gate; it was 
on the right hand of a person entering Jerusalem by that gate, and so near the city 
walls that the Franks considered it advisable to level it to the ground before the siege 
began, and so prevent its occupation by the besiegers. On the left hand, opposite the 
church, was the Asnerie; and on the right hand, by the wall, was the Leper's house. 
For more than a century after the capture of the city by the Muslims, the scene of the 
martyrdom was pointed out to the north of the city walls; but early in the fourteenth 
century the tradition began to waver. Marinus Sanutus (13 10) says that the place 
where Stephen was bound before he was stoned was pointed out on the right side 



90 Place of Stoning of St. Stephen 

of the street, close to the modern St. Stephen's gate; Pipin (1320) says that the scene 
of the martyrdom was at the foot of Mount Olivet; Maundeville (1322) writes, 'Over 
against that vale of Jehoshaphat, out of the city, is the Church of St. Stephen, where 
he was stoned to death.' Baldensel (1336) fixes the site as between the present St. 
Stephen's Gate and the Kidron Valley; Sigoli (1384) in the Kidron Valley; Frescobaldi 
(1384) agrees with Sigoli, and says that the spot was marked by a stone; and the 
Baron d'Auglure (1395) places the scene of the martyrdom on the right bank of the 
Kidron, beneath St. Stephen's Gate, where it is now shown to pilgrims. From the 
end of the fourteenth century to the present day, the tradition as to the site has re- 




JERUSALEM— OUTSIDE THE JAFFA GATE 



mained unchanged, but various particulars, such as the spot upon which Saul stood 
to receive the clothes, have been added to it. The 'Gate of St. Stephen' first appears 
on the east side of the city in the fifteenth century in the journals of Gumpenberg. 

The other question is to determine the place of the stoning of Stephen. It is 
evident that such spot was unknown to Eudocia, and will ever remain unknown. It 
seems, however, probable that it was closer to the walls than the site of St. Stephen's 
Church; for the act was not a legal execution, as the Jews were forbidden by Roman 
law to execute capital punishment. It was an act of mob violence, and its perpetra- 
tors must have fallen upon Stephen as soon as he was dragged outside the gate. 



Arguments Against the Authenticity of Golgotha 



91 



Mondav, October 17. 1904 — Arose at 5.45 a. m. Mass at 6.30. Breakfast ; went 
to Librarv. Limited collection of books; some good ones. Many periodicals. Am 
more convinced than ever that the real Calvary is not where the Church of the Holy 
Sepulchre is built. From my window I can look over the city. The Church of the 
Holy Sepulchre is in the central part of the city. It is evident that its site could never 
have been called Calvaria. the Skull. Rev. Vincent of the Dominicans and all the 
Fathers believe in its authenticity ; but they seem to base all their arguments on early 
Christian testimonies. This is a weak proof. We grant that such testimonies are 
favorable; but the root "of the question lies deeper. We believe that the error of the 




GORDON'S "CALVARY" 



site is very ancient. I shall exa min e the proofs which Pere Vincent will adduce when 
we visit the site. The Calvary of Gordon lies north of Jerusalem a little outside the 
present walls of the City. It is a bald bare knoll, a real skull-shaped prominence. 
I have not yet examined the site, but it appeals to me. I stand at my window, and 
look wistfully out at the white rocks of its bare side, and wish that some way were open 
to find the true site of the great event of the first Good Friday. 

At 3.15 p. m. we had the first lesson in Arabic. I can not judge of M. Jaussen's 
knowledge of the tongue, but of one thing I am certain that he is a poor professor for 
beginners. He fails to comprehend the extreme difficulty encountered at first. He 



92 



The Ecole Biblique 



looks at the tongue from his point of view. He speaks indistinctly, half smothering 
many words. I am almost discouraged. The blackboard is a thing of boards, about 
three feet by two, and the paint is quite worn from it. 

At 4.45 p.m. we had a lesson in Phoenician Epigraphy by Lagrange. I find the same 
lack of precision and distinctness in utterance. We deciphered an inscription. It 
was only important in illustrating the Phoenician alphabet. The language is radically 
Hebrew. These Fathers have not the art of the professor. If I taught Hebrew as 
they teach their languages, my scholars would despair. 




VALLEY OF HINNOM 



After the class in Epigraphy, I went out for a walk alone. It is such a comfort 
to walk alone. When one has a companion here he is always tugging at one's arm, 
and offering one the preference in everything, in truly " Gaston-Alphonse " fashion. 
I walked around the hill called the Calvary of Gordon. A Mussulman Cemetery is 
on its summit, and the whole hill is surrounded by a wall. The hill joins the property 
of the Dominicans; I shall to-morrow find the way to enter it. 

In the evening I walked in the garden with the Dutch priest Van Kceverden, 
who has already studied here for a year. I found him a pronounced liberal in scripture. 
He rejects the Mosaic Authorship; finds no difficulty in admitting legends and popular 
traditions, even though false, in the Bible; and believes that Our Lord accommo- 
dated his discourse to the popular beliefs of the people. He follows Lagrange in every- 
thing. 



The Ecole Biblique 



93 



Tuesday, October 18 — Mass at 6.30. Pere Savignac ill. No class in Syriac. I 
apply myself to the study of Arabic. It is at first difficult and uninviting. I can 
sympathize now with St. Jerome in his labors and sorrows while he studied Hebrew. 

At three o'clock we set out with Pere Vincent on an archaeological exploration. 
We made the complete circuit of the city outside the present walls. The things of 
most interest were the Tyropceon, Mt. Zion, the little Ophel, the valley of Kidron, 
Tophet at the junction of the Valley of Kidron, the Valley of Tyropceon, and of Wady 
Rababi. One realizes that the science of Topography and Archaeology are most 
difficult, and that the best results of the greatest labors can be but probable judgments. 
I am convinced that there are few absolutely authentic sanctuaries in the East. Often 
the true level of Jerusalem and of its immediately outlying territory is now covered 
by from five to forty metres of accumulated soil. This accumulation changes the 
whole aspect of the ancient city; and makes the identification of its monuments al- 
most impossible. The so-called tombs of Absalom, of James the less, and of Zach- 
arias are of origin later than the epoch of Christ. We examined the probable site of 
Millo in the valley of Tyropceon. I return to the Convent with persuasion more fixed 
than ever that the site of the Church of the Sepulchre is not authentic. 

October 19— Mass at 6.30. Mass of St. Mary Jerome, a virgin not" a martyr, a 
new saint for me. Class at nine by Pere Vincent on the Cities of Chanaan as revealed 
by the excavations of Bliss. Macalister, and Ernest Sellin. It is difficult to follow 
the speaker, because he has in a minor degree the defect of all the professors, to speak 
with poor enunciation. I shall endeavor to get a general idea of the matter, to develop 
afterward by private study. 

At ten o'clock Pere Lagrange opened his school of Theologie Biblique. Without 
doubt he is the poorest professor that I have ever heard. He opened with an exami- 
nation of De Lattre's book anent the historical method in exegesis. De Lattre op- 
poses the rationalism of Lagrange. The Rev. Professor spoke most indistinctly. 
Half his words were mere grunts and mumbling. If the college were not in this place, 
I should leave to-day. But I remain to study the Archaeology of Jerusalem, and to 
acquire the other knowledge which one can only obtain here. The Church is clean 
and beautiful. The cleanliness in the rooms is not so good; and they have no accom- 
modations for baths. 

I have studied Arabic lor two hours, and I am almost discouraged. I have several 
grammars; but they are not clear. The}" seem to fail to grasp the real need of the 
learner. 

This afternoon has been one of the most unhappy of my life. 1 must leave the 
study and go for a walk. If I could get a good grammar I would pay any price for it. 
I am convinced that the labor here must be done by oneself in this branch. 

I went to the place called "Gordon's Calvary." The place believed by him to 
be the Holy Sepulchre lies in a garden a little to the south of the Dominican Convent 
of St. Etienne. This garden is the property of an English lady. A Danish woman 
who speaks English is the custodian. The garden is on the northern slope of a barren 
rocky hill which the Muslims use as a cemetery. I entered into the tomb which is cut 
into the rock of the mountain side. There is an ante chamber, and then the tomb 
proper containing three troughs, one on the south side, one on the west side and one on 
the east side. I must examine it again. I am more and more convinced that the 
traditional Holy Sepulchre is not authentic. 



94 



Life in Jerusalem 



October 20 — Mass at 6.30. Another new saint, St. William, a Dominican martyr. 
A walk in the convent garden after mass. Vegetables are cultivated here by irrigation. 

The same lonely silence reigns, broken only by the braying of the asses, the groans 
of the camels, and the coarse guttural shouts of the Arabs. A weird oppressive feeling 
weighs upon me. I cannot analyze it. The uncertainty of the Holy Sepulchre and 
of Calvary is a factor in this feeling, just think of it; I have been here five days, 
and I have not yet visited the Church of the Sepulchre. I shall go to-day. I must 
now turn to the uninviting study of the Arabic the greater part ot the forenoon. I 
begin to be able to distinguish the characters. Thank God, I am not quite so unhappy 
now. The day is quite cool. My next door neighbor Rev. Van Kceverden is ill with 
the fever. It is quite prevalent here. It seems to be produced by sudden changes of 
atmosphere. At sundown there is a sudden fall of temperature which is liable to sink 
much lower during the night. To-day is cool. Quite a breeze is blowing, and it 
raises clouds of white sand. This white chalky sand is most disagreeable. It covers 
all the scanty verdure of the land. The eye roams in vain for the sight of a green field. 
The olive trees are covered with dust. Water is the great need of the land. Our 
water supply is from cisterns where the water is collected during the rainy season. 
One is used for the drinking water; the others are used for irrigation. A grist mill is 
just north-west of my window a few rods distant; its monotonous hum adds to the 
general loneliness of life in Jerusalem. 

At 3.45 p. m. I went down with Dr. Hecjl to the Church of the Holy Sepulchre. 
Dr. Hecjl is a Bohemian professor, who is studying here at the College of St. Etienne. 
We joined the procession which takes place every day at 4.15 p. m. in the Church of 
the Holv Sepulchre. The Franciscans lead the procession, chanting hymns appro- 
priate to the Passion and Resurrection of Christ. The chant is very bad, and the 
monks are quite independent. They visit the grotto where the cross is supposed to 
have been found, then Calvary, the Sepulchre, and other traditional places, such as 
the stone of anointing which is near the door of the Church, and is an invention of 
quite a late date. On the way back from the Church I could not forbear talking 
against its authenticity. It cannot be the place of these tremendous facts. We walked 
around the Calvary of Gordon, and tried to enter; but the Muslim refused admittance. 
We shall try again. I feel the clouds breaking a little. I am not quite so depressed. 
But O, the awful uncertainty of Calvary and the Sepulchre! Thank God, the great 
facts of the Crucifixion and Resurrection are not uncertain. 1 would die to-night 
with a wild joy for that everlasting truth. I shall go to-morrow at 5.30 a. m. to say 
Mass in the Holy Sepulchre. Even though it be unauthentic, I shall direct my act 
to honor the great events which took place here at Jerusalem. I shall now make a 
list of the living and the dead for my mementos to-morrow. 

October 21 — Arose at 4.30 a.m. At 5 a.m. set out for the Church of the Sep- 
ulchre. It rained a little last night, the first rain since April. 

It was quite dark when we set out. It was also pleasantly cool. All along the 
road outside the walls and in the narrow dark and dirty streets the Arabs were lying, 
many asleep and some awake. Men, women, and animals lie thus by the wayside. 

No pen can describe the wretched condition of this city. In general the streets 
follow no plan; but run about like cowpaths in a forest. The streets are very narrow 
in general. Two camels can scarcely pass each other in them. The dirty walls of the 
shops joined together rise to such a height that one cannot see anything on either 



Mass at the Traditional Holy Sepulchre 



95 



side but the squalid wretched shops and dwellings. Sometimes also the way is vaulted 
overhead, increasing its darkness and disorder. It is thus very difficult to find one's 
way in the city. One is forever, as it were, wandering through deep ditches, where 
the view on both sides is precluded. This morning in the dark we could not find the 
entrance to the Holy Sepulchre. I employed an Arab boy to guide me. He spoke a 
little French. He led me a few rods to the entrance, I gave him half a franc, and the 
wretched creature immediately demanded more. At 6.20 a. m. I said Mass in the 
Holy Sepulchre. As the marble slab covering the supposed place where the body of 
Christ was laid is too low to serve commodiously for an altar, the} 7 place a framework 
of wood thereon. I hope that my Mass was devout. A Franciscan lav.brother served 




MOUNT of olives 



the Mass. He and two women received Holy Communion at my Mass. I made a 
long list on paper of all the living friends for whom I said the Mass; and I laid this 
paper containing the names on the altar during the Mass. The dead, for 
whom I offered it also, were not so numerous, and I relied on my memory to specify 
them in the memento. I shall keep this list and often shall I lay it on the altars here, 
and say the Mass for my living and dead kindred and friends. 

I returned at 7.20 and made a visit to the numerous tombs in the Dominican 
garden. The whole ground here is full .of tombs. There is a vast tomb in the Garden 
of St. Etienne a few feet from the tomb so-called "The Sepulchre of Gordon." The 



96 



Life at Jerusalem 



Dominicans have utilized it to bury their dead, and also to bury there the French 
nuns and French notables who may die at Jerusalem. I shall study these tombs more 
later. 

It rained a very little more. this forenoon. The day is cool and cloudy. The lec- 
ture of Pere Vincent this morning on the Topography of Jerusalem was directed to 
prove that the chain of tradition at Jerusalem was unbroken, and that therefore these 
testimonies regarding the monuments, such as the Holy Sepulchre, are founded upon 
the testimonies of those who were capable witnesses of the facts. The arguments do 
not seem to me conclusive. At 5.30 p. m. went for a walk down past the Calvary of 
Gordon on the left and the northeastern wall of Jerusalem on the right, as one goes 
from the Convent of St. Etienne to the Mt. of Olives. The bald bare knoll of Gordon's 
Calvary impressed me greatly as I walked past it in the moonlight. It truly, even to- 
day, presents the appearance that would merit for it the name of the skull. We went 
down across the bridge of Kidron past the Garden of Gethsemane and part way up 
the Mount of Olives. There is no water in Kidron now. The Garden of Gethsemane 
is walled in by the Franciscan Fathers. One can at least feel sure of the authenticity 
of the Mount of Olives. It is the eastern slope of the valley of the Kidron. From any 
part of its slope, after ascending a little out of the valley of the Kidron one obtains a 
panoramic view of Jerusalem. The site of the Old Temple is close to the wall, lying 
directly west of the Mount of Olives. 

From this mount Jesus saw the city, and wept over it. Just think of it, the soil 
of the Mount of Olives is moistened with the tears of Jesus Christ, shed for the sins of 
men. Shall we not call it a sanctuary? And its authenticity cannot be doubted. 
Men cannot change or invent mountains. Here often shall I roam and try to realize 
more deeply the New Testament in the Blood of Jesus Christ. 

October 22 — Mass at 6:30 at the convent of St. Etienne. This morning I shall 
devote to study of class matter. At ten o'clock I went to the class taught by 
Pere Lagrange called "Theologie Biblique." He essayed to give a treatise on Inspira- 
tion. I gleaned from him that all the Fathers recognize in the Scriptures certain 
things which cannot be taken "ad litteram." His explanation is that the writers 
in recording natural events accepted the popular persuasion of the day. So they 
accept the popular tradition on the creation etc. It is very unpleasant to listen to 
the man. He has a very unsympathetic face; and he grunts and mangles his words 
in such a manner that it is very fatiguing to listen to him. He seems to glory in the 
fact that he has such a bad enunciation. I judge that he is a proud man, proud of 
this wretched peculiarity. What he said did not have great weight. I believe that 
the man has been greatly overestimated. 

After dinner I studied Arabic for some time, and then went to confession in the 
Franciscan Church, called the Church of Our Saviour (San Salvatore). Then I went 
to the Church of the Holy Sepulchre, and again made the procession. Faith reigns in 
my heart together with the growing persuasion that the site is not authentic. The 
facts which we commemorate there are true ; and it is the only place in Jerusalem 
fitted for this devotion to the great facts of redemption. 

The procession is formed in the Chapel of the Blessed Sacrament, stops in the same 
chapel at the columns of the scourging (apochrypal) ; then proceeds down a rocky pas- 
sage of steps through a grotto chapel dedicated to St. Helena to a lower grotto where 
the cross is supposed to have been found. In all these places hymns are recited or 
sung, and Our Father, Hail Mary, and Glory is said for the Indulgence, and the pave- 



Devotions at the "Holy Sepulchre' 



97 



ment is kissed. Those in the procession carried lighted tapers. The procession then 
returns to the Chapel of St. Helena, where the same worship is exhibited. Incense is 
offered by a Franciscan priest in surplice in all the sanctuaries. The procession then 
ascends Calvary, stopping first at the Latin Altar on the right, where tradition places 
the nailing to the cross. Of course this tradition is absolutely void of probability. 

The Greeks have exclusive right of the altar over the supposed spot of the Cruci- 
fixion, but all may approach and venerate the spot. Here the procession next halts. 
Then again we descend the steps to the Sepulchre, then to the spot of Christ's ap- 




GROTTO OF ST. HELENA 



pearance to Mary Magdalene, and then to a spot assigned to venerate Christ's appear- 
ance to his Blessed Mother. 

The procession then re-enters the Chapel of the Blessed Sacrament, where hymns 
are sung, and the Litany of the Blessed Virgin is either recited or sung. 

The defenders of the authenticity of the traditional site of the Holy Sepulchre 
must admit that many of the traditions are mere pious imaginations, and yet the de- 
votion is good. But how absurd to suppose that one can fix the. exact spot on Calvary 
where the cross was placed ! 

Sunday, October 23 — Arose at 5.40 a. m. At six set out for the Church of the 
Sepulchre. The hour assigned to the Latin rite had Ceased at the Sepulchre. Said 
Mass on Calvary for the friends whose names are written in the list of which I have be- 



98 



Greek and Coptic Liturgie 



fore spoken. There are two Latin Altars on Calvary; one to commemorate the place 
where the Lord was nailed to the cross, and the other to commemorate the place where 
the Blessed Virgin stood. I said Mass on the latter altar. It has the privilege of a 
proper Mass without any commemoration, and with Gloria and Credo. These tra- 
ditions are of course pure pious imagination, as no man can tell where Mary stood; and 
it is more than probable that Christ was lifted up on the upright cross and nailed 
thereto after the cross was erected. Of course we know that he was first bound to the 
cross with ropes. At my Mass three communicated, two lay brothers and a woman. 
There were a number of Christians present . The stones of the church are worn smooth 
by the kisses of multitudes. 

After my Mass and a short thanksgiving in front of the sepulchre, I stopped a 
moment to witness the Greek Mass which was being celebrated. The Greeks have a 
large chapel immediately in front of the Holy Sepulchre. This chapel extends back 
along the side of Calvary. A bishop was there celebrating high Mass. I have often 
heard Greek Masses, but the chant of this one seemed to me more than usually harsh 
and weird. The chant never ceased. It was strident and monotonous. The singers 
were priests and some boys. 

The Greek priests at Jerusalem are not married. They belong to a sort of religious 
order. It is only the very inferior part of the Greek clergy who now marry. No greater 
opprobrium can be offered to a Greek than to say of him that he is the son of a priest. 

I watched the faces of these priests, and setting aside all inherited prejudice, I 
can avow that the expression is not good. Ignorance, pride and deceit are there depict- 
ed. 

I went from the Greek chapel to the small chapel iust behind the sepulchre. It 
is the Coptic Chapel. The Mass had begun. I took a place where I could see the 
priest at the altar, and I remained to the end. A few Copts were standing or squatting 
in front of the Chapel. A company of little boys chanted, squatting in a group in 
front, a little to the right of the entrance. The Chapel where the priest stood is not 
more than ten feet by ten, arched overhead, and is constructed of iron trellis-work 
with a door of the same. The walls are draped with red curtains, and a curtain is 
arranged over the door, which curtain is drawn over the door at the Communion of 
the priest, to shut off the view. As it did not extend over the trellis work at the left 
side of the door as one faces it, standing there I could still see the priest. 

The liturgy is in the Coptic tongue with many Greek words. It is all chanted so 
that a continual chant is carried on by the priest and the boys outside. They chant 
simultaneously, and nothing that I have ever heard equalled its weirdness and its 
harshness. Pope Pius X. may reform the Gregorian chant, but no created power 
can reform this horrible sound. 

The priest was assisted by a youth of perhaps eight years. I suppose he was the 
deacon. They make innumerable bows and signs of the cross after the Latin form; 
but they never kneel ; neither do they bow so profoundly as do the Greeks. 

The bread resembles a small biscuit. 

The chalice stands in a sort of frame, covered with red cloth. Only the top of the 
chalice is visible. 

The Mass is quite long and is all chanted. 

The priest has a long sort of tunic over his regular clothing, and his head is covered 
with a white cloth, marked with a cross. Lie puts off his shoes before entering the 
chapel. 



The Coptic Mass 



99 



The Coptic priests always wear a white skull cap. This is not removed when 
thev put on the other white head covering pertaining to the sacred vestments. The 
physical strain to retain in memory and chant that long liturgy must be great. The 
priest used no book during the Mass. Much incense is used. At the Communion the 
priest divided the bread and shared it with the deacon. The priest placed in the 
mouth of the deacon successively three pieces, while the priest also alternately ate of 
the bread. The bread was contained in a gilded shallow basin of the capacity of per- 
haps a pint. The chalice in form did not differ from a Latin chalice. The priest 
shared the chalice also with the youth whom I have called the deacon. He gave him 
three successive spoonfuls. The priest drained the chalice himself. 

The purification of the sacred vessels was singular. The priest rubbed his index 
finger successively many times around the surface of the gilded basin, and each time 
licked his finger with his mouth. He purified the chalice by pouring water into it and 
rubbing it on the inside with his finger. After drinking this water, he held the chalice 
over the basin, and the deacon poured water over the upper brim of the chalice and 
over the priest's hands. The priest then washed his hands and his beard about his 
mouth in the basin, and drank the water. While his hands were yet wet he approached 
the door of the chapel, and all the people went up, and he stroked their faces placing 
a hand on each of their cheeks, and drawing the hands down to the chin. He then 
wiped his hands, and distributed blessed bread to the people. He stood at the door 
and broke bits from a small loaf in his hand, and gave them to men. children, and 
women. They began at once to eat this bread. This was the end. He put off his 
vestments in the chapel, came out, and stepped into his slippers, and went away. It 
was a strange weird sight. And yet they have the real priesthood, and the power of 
consecration. These here of course are the schismatic Copts. 

There is never a moment of quiet in the Church of the Holy Sepulchre. When 
the doors are closed at night the Russians, Armenians, and others begin their chant. 
Soon after midnight liturgies commence, and so from day to day this motley concourse 
of races goes on. In what marvelous ways the followers of Christ are divided! 

I returned home through the main street of Jerusalem, which is just about ten feet 
wide, It rained bard last night, and also this morning; and the dirt and mud of the 
street were indescribable. It is so cool to-day that I am going out of mv room to walk 
in the court to say my office. To-day Mgr. Marini the Editor of the Bessarione of 
Rome, and his nephew dined with us. Pere Lagrange and Pere Jaussen came with 
them into our dining room. It was quite a treat. The conversation treated of the 
terrible state of France and also of Italy. Even in Italy priests display banners on 
the 20th of September. Sig. Salviucci says that Semeria and the whole Barnabite 
Order is liberal. The authenticity of the Holy Sepulchre was discussed. All the 
Fathers believe in its authenticity. I do not believe. 

After dinner, I visited Gordon's "'Holy Sepulchre." I bought some photographs, 
the best obtainable. I do not accept it as the true sepulchre. It consists of two 
rooms cut out in the rock. The atrium is about ten feet by eight, and high enough 
that an ordinary man may stand upright therein without touching the plafond. The 
inner room, or tomb proper, is about the same size and contains three troughs for the 
dead. 

The end trough must have been arranged for the burial of children. On the end 
wall over the small trough a cross is painted on the wall, and on each side the letters, 
A+H. The supposition is that this inscription goes back to the Crusaders. But the 

L. OF Co 



100 



Gethsemane 



tomb does not correspond to the description given in the new Testament ; and moreover, 
it is not wrought with that magnificence which one would expect in the private tomb 
of the rich Joseph of Arimathaea. The Calvary of Gordon rises abruptly at the south- 
ern wall of the garden The eastern side of the hill is a perpendicular wall of soft rock. 
In its side are certain caves. There is one falsely called the grotto of Jeremiah. Under 
the rock in a cave live two families of Arabs. It is dreadful to see them crawling out 
of the dark hole like woodchucks. Their goats live there with them. 

It would be an error to place on this shelving rock the place of the Crucifixion; 
but the whole hill may have been called the "Skull" from these bare fantastic shaped 




GARDEN OF GETHSEMANE 



rocks, and the southerly peak near the present road is a possible site of the Crucifixion. 
It's a pity that it is a Mussulman Cemetery; and the guardian thus far refuses me 
entrance. I shall try again. 

We went down to Gethsemane; prayed there under the old scraggy olive trees, and 
listened very reverently while the PVanciscan brother told us that they were from the 
same trunk as the olive trees which grew here in the time of Christ. Still the garden 
is authentic; and I took some of the twigs which had fallen, and also a few of the olive 
berries as mementos of Our Lord. 

On the way back we met a Jewish funeral. Their cemetery is on the hill which 
forms a part of the Mount of Olives. The man was simply wound in a sheet and carried 



The Grotto of the Agony 



101 



on a stretcher on the shoulders of men. They never employ a coffin. The body is 
put into the ground in its winding sheet. When it is question of a common man they 
break the legs, and double them under the body to get it into less space in the ground. 
They are despised by all men. Even the ragged Arab despises the Jew. They hold 
aloof from all men. They are a most wretched race. They have a a strange unnatural 
expression. They are of slight build, and somewhat effeminate in appearance. They 
never wear the turban. 




OLIVE TREE IN GETHSEMANE 



October 24. Arose at 5 -.45 — Mass at the Grotto of the Agony near Gethsemane. 
It is certain that the Grotto is not the place where Christ knelt and prayed; but it is 
equally certain that the place was near; and as the Church allows the proper Mass 
of the event to be said here, I shall go often there to say Mass. 

The localization in the present Grotto of the prayer of our Lord is most regret- 
able. In the early ages the event was commemorated in a church whose ruins were 
discovered in 1892 in the Franciscan property, a little southeast of the present enclosed 



102 



The Grotto of the Agony 



garden of Gethsemane. Of course no man can fix the exact site of the agony of the Lord. 
The tract of the slope of Mt. Olivet just across Kidron was called Gethsemane. Some- 
where in this garden Jesus knelt and prayed. A portion of this land the Franciscans 
have walled in as Gethsemane. Just east of them, higher up the mountain, is the 
Russian site of the event. It is vain to endeavor to mark the exact spot of Judas' 
treason, and of the agony. It is quite certain that a part of the original garden is the 
present traditional Gethsemane, and in this sense it is authentic. The localization of 
the event in the grotto is a modern invention, and a deplorable one. The cave first 
came into the tradition as the place where Jesus was betrayed. Up to the thirteenth 




the grotto of the agony 



century there was no mention of the Grotto. Then it came into the tradition as the 
place of the treason of Judas. The first clear mention of the cave as the place of the 
Agony is in John Poloner 142 1: "Fourteen paces eastward (from the Tomb of the 
Blessed Virgin Mary) is the entrance to the cave beneath the rocks at the foot of the 
Mount of Olives, wherein the Lord Jesus, being in an agony, sweated drops of blood, 
as he prayed thrice." 

Felix Fabri, 1484, confirms the tradition of the Grotto; but in speaking of the 
garden, describes the insults which the Saracens perpetrated on the Christians: 

"We went further on, and came to the garden in which the Lord Jesus came to 
meet those who wished to take Him, bowed thrice, at last voluntarily delivered Him- 



Gethsemane 



103 



self up into their hands, and suffered Judas to kiss Him. This place is surrounded by a 
drv stone wall, and is of peculiar sanctity. It stands on the slope of the mount: not 
that the place slopes much, but there is a wide field there which is called the 'flower 
garden.' This place is visited by both Eastern and Western Christians alike, with 
most zealous devotion; but the Saracens, out of jealousy of us, generally befoul the 
place with dung, and bedaub with filth the stones which the pilgrims are wont to kiss. 
So on this day, when we came to this place, we found it freshly defiled in a shameful 
fashion. Herein we were not so angry with the Saracens as we were with our own 
selves, knowing on the other hand that it was in consequence of our sins that God 
suffered this to be done, and that He powerfully stirs up the Saracens to do these things, 
to the end that the holy places may be defiled before the eyes of pilgrim knights and 
nobles, who may thereby be roused up to deliver the Holy Land, to avenge the malice 
which prompts such great insults, and to kindle their zeal for the places wherein our 
redemption was wrought. That God powerfully stirs' up the Saracens to act 
thus is proved by the fact that this place is far from the haunts of men, and this collec- 
ted filth must be carried in a pitcher from the city, or from the lower parts of the Mount 
of Olives, where also there are houses, and the places which we adore carefully be- 
daubed, which beastly action no one would commit were he not strongly influenced by 
something more than mere human will. However, this good is made manifest even 
by this filthy act, that they reckon that we are much interested in these places, and 
therefore are strong Christians, and when they see that in spite of their defilements we 
reverence and kiss the holy places, albeit they are not edified, yet they are confounded 
thereby. So we went to this place, wiped away the filth with our garments, and being 
moved by a feeling of pity to greater devotion and respect, kneeled down in this filth 
out of worship for the holy places, and received indulgences. Even so one who 
saw the Host lying in the mud would straightway fall into the mud himself, and would 
not regard his own defilement, provided that he could save the Sacrament from insult." 

It may have been to avoid this desecration that the holy Mass was offered in the 
cave. These motives no longer exist ; and it is a disgrace that the Franciscans cling 
to the authenticity of the cave, and refuse to allow Masses in the garden. 

I said Mass this morning for my relatives and friends, placing the written list on 
the altar as usual. The dead I remember easily. 

The cave has two well equipped altars. Franciscan brothers serve. 

The weather is fine to-day, The eye tires of seeing camels, asses, dirty men, 
women, and children. 

I have just returned from the class of Pere Savignac. The class is called Geo- 
graphie de la Terre Sainte. It was absolutely the most unprofitable class I have eA'er 
attended. He mumbled unintelligibly something about the identification of certain 
cities mentioned in the Bible with certain Arabic villages. There was no point or log- 
ical purpose to the discourse. The greater part of the discourse was a sort of half- 
uttered monologue. One may learn here what to avoid in teaching a class. 

This afternoon we had our third class in Arabic. The professor treated the pro- 
noun, the eleven forms of the verb, and the perfect and imperfect of the first form. M. 
Jaussen is something of a puzzle to me, He undoubtedly knows Arabic; but he cer- 
tainly does not know how to communicate his knowledge. The Dominicans of St. 
Etienne must change their methods if they wish to become an Oriental College for the 
world. They must reform their enunciation, and their methods of teaching. 



104 



Topography of Jerusalem 



M. Jaussen was followed by M. Lagrange, who partly deciphered a Phoenician 
inscription. As the Phoenician tongue was substantially the Hebrew tongue, the art 
of deciphering consists in finding the equivalent Hebrew letters for the Phoenician 
signs, and then grouping the letters into their words. I do not actually undertake 
any of this deciphering. I go to the class merely to learn the method. 

After class I took a short walk around Gordon's Calvary, and then returned to 
the convent. 

It is quite cool this evening. An overcoat would be agreeable. 
October 25th. — Mass at 6:15 in the Church of St. Etienne. The morning is de- 
lightfully cool and clear. 




JERUSALEM — DAMASCUS GATE 



At nine o'clock I had my first lesson in Syriac. Pere Savignac treated the Alpha- 
bet . the vowels, the pronoun, and the simple form of the verb in one lesson. Of course, 
the same ennervating lack of clear enunciation existed, as also the confused method 
of presentation. Private study must supply the defects of the class. 

After dinner we took another of those delightful promenades with Pere Vincent. 
We went down to the Damascus gate ( Bab-el -Ahmoud) and mounted upon the top of 
the wall. This is the only possible way to study the topography of Jerusalem. When 
one is in tne narrow dirty streets the view is obstructed on all sides. From the top of 
the wall all Jerusalem was open to observation. From the Damascus gate the 



Topography of Jerusalem 



105 



Tvropoeon may be traced running down from this gate to the esplanade between the 
Mosque of Omar and the Mosque of El-Aksa. Then it turns to the right, passing to 
the right of the ancient Moriah and Ophel. The present surface of Jerusalem is per- 
haps thirteen metres above the ancient surface of Tyropceon near the Damascus Gate. 
Xear the Temple the accumulation would be perhaps five or six metres; while down 
near the hill of Ophel it is even twenty-five metres. This accumulation is attested by 
exca rations. 

To the north of Jerusalem runs a chain of hills now the site of various hospices and 
convents. To the east is Mons Scopus. Mons Olivarum, and Mons Mali Consilii. The 



POOL CALLED THE POOL OF HEZEKIAH 

deep valley of the Kidron runs between the high site of Jerusalem and these eastern 



Pere Vincent is a firm believer in the traditional site of Golgotha. He endeavored 
to-day to point out the line of the second wall. In order to exclude the "Holv 
Sepulchre"they must make a great angle in the wall, the like of which is not found in 
any other part of the walls of Jerusalem. 

If it were in any way essential to the Christian faith that Calvary and the 
Sepulchre should be revealed. God would have revealed them. When Thomas de- 
manded to see the actual wounds of Jesus, they were revealed unto him. But we de 
mand not this extraordinary evidence. The great events took place here, here at 
Jerusalem. That is sufficient to justify the pilgrimages to this land. The events are 
venerated in the church of the Holy Sepulchre ; therefore I shall go frequently there to 



i 




hills. 



106 Taanach 

_% 

show devotion to these great events which certainly happened here at Jerusalem*. But 
it is a relief to go forth out of the dirty, foul-smelling city, out to the Mount of Olives, 
and there on its slope meditate on Jerusalem; and then rise to the great climax of all 
meditation the Life, Death, and Resurrection of Jesus Christ. 

In our promenade to-day we mounted a terrace near the Church of the Sepulchre, 
which is supposed to be nearly on the site of the ancient wall. A good view was ob- 
tained of the site of the Temple, and of the whole city. To the west within a few 
metres is the dry bed of a great cistern cut in the rock. The real origin of this is un- 
known. It has been called the Cistern of Hezekiah ; but Pere Vincent inclines to believe 
that it is not more ancient than the fourth or fifth century of the Christian era. To 
form an idea of the filth of the city, it is well to note that in ascending the wall at the 
Damascus Gate Ave had difficulty to pick our steps between deposits of human excre- 
ment. The same state of affairs exists everywhere. The stench of the streets is 
dreadful. The ragged, dirty inhabitants sit down in the midst of this filth by the 
side of the street, and smoke, and at night they often sleep there. 

Just outside the Damascus Gate is the cattle market. One sees there great flocks 
of sheep, usually of the Asiatic genus with the broad tail. These sheep are sometimes 
driven hither from the plains of Persia. Many months are consumed in the journey; 
but it costs nothing as they pasture by the way. 

The chief things for sale in the shops of the city are bread, meat, fruit, and cheese. 
All of it has a dirty appearance. They have some fine species of the egg-plant, and 
cauliflower. 

October 26th. — Mass at 6:15 in the Church of St. Etienne. Another new saint, one 
Damian 0. P. If all the Dominican saints were inserted in the general Ordo, there 
would be no room for the other feasts. 

I took a little walk after breakfast. Just in front of our gate is an encampment 
of wandering Arabs. They are not Bedawin ; for the Bedawin make their habitation 
in the plain; while these wander about the outskirts of cities. Their tents are most 
wretched, small, and the canvas is half rotten. The conveniences of life are absolutely 
absent. They sit on dirty mats of canvas, and smoke, and talk. It is pitiable to see 
the wretched, dirty, unhealthy children. One woman was spinning a coarse black 
thread of goats hair, or wool. She spun by rolling the distaff on her leg. 

At nine o'clock Ave had a class on the Chanaanite antiquities found at Taanach. 

Dr. Sellin, having decided, whilst traveling in Palestine, to explore the buried re- 
mains of one of the towns of Northern Palestine, elected Taanach, by the waters of 
Megiddo. The selection Avas a happy one, for the excavations have shown that the 
isolated hill, Tell Ta'anach, upon which the town stood, Avas unoccupied for some 1,500 
years (B.C. 600 to A. D. 900). The buildings of the Amorite and Israelite periods are, 
consequently, in a better state of preservation than they are at Gezer, a place that Avas 
occupied continuously, and changed hands more than once during the stormy times 
of the Maccabsean Avars. Supported by Government grants, which were supplemented 
by private contributions, Dr. Sellin Avas able to do much in a short time. The report 
on his excavations during 1902-1903 has recently appeared, and, as they were the first 
to be carried out on the site of a town of the ancient kingdom of Israel, it will be interest- 
ing to compare the results they have yielded with those obtained by Mr. Macalister 
at Gezer. 

There is no trace at Taanach, excepting perhaps some empty caves, of the Neolithic 
cave-dwellers, Avhose existence was first made known to us by Mr. Macalister. The 



Taanach 



107 



hill was occupied about B.C. 2000 by the civilised people called Amorites,or Chanaanites, 
who seem to have taken possession of Palestine between B.C. 2500-2000. These people 
were not at first dispossessed by the Israelites; the town remained Chanaanite for cen- 
turies. The occupation by the Hebrews was gradual, and apparently, as at Gezer, those 
who settled in Taanach adopted Amorite manners and customs. The excavations have 
revealed no true break in culture, but rather a gradual development. At a period 
when the influence of Greek civilisation had become very marked, but not dominant, 
the town was completely destroyed. The date of the catastrophe is uncertain. The 
pottery indicates that it was later than B.C. 7 2 2, when the kingdom of Israel came to 
an end; and the complete absence of glass and of the characteristic "Seleucid" ware 
shows that it could not have been later than B.C. 400. There is some reason to sup- 
pose that, when Israel was carried away captive, the site was occupied for a time by 
people of a different race; and Dr. Sellin suggests that the town may have been de- 
stroyed about B.C. 608 by the Egyptians after they had defeated King Josiah at Meg- 
iddo, some two and one-half miles distant, and in full view. In Roman times there 
were no buildings on the hill, and its surface was cultivated, as at present. But a 
small town, which is mentioned by Jerome, grew up at the foot. Some time before 
the Crusades an Arab town and castle were built on the top of the hill. These appear 
to have been destroyed by the Crusaders, and the site has since lain waste. 

Dr. Sellin adopting the method of classification introduced by Professor Petrie, 
divides the shreds of pottery found in the debris into four art strata, or periods, and 
each of these he subdivides into two sections. In the earliest section (ia) of the first, 
or Amorite, period (B.C. 200 — 1600) there is little trace of foreign influence, but a 
curious Babylonian-Egyptian seal cylinder shows that it was not wholly absent. The 
pottery is identical with that of the earliest Amorite period of Gezer, and it seems 
that these early inhabitants of Northern and Southern Palestine had reached the same 
stage of civilization, and were of the same race. In the second section (ib) of the 
Amorite period (B.C. 1600 — 1300) a great advance in culture is apparent, and the pot- 
tery is analogous to that of Cyprus, Mykenae, and Egypt. To this section belong the 
cuneiform tablets found near the fragments of the terra-cotta box in which they were 
stored (cf. Jer. xxxii. 14). The letters show that Taanach was dependent upon Egypt 
when they were written, and that the local meleks, or "kings ' used Babylonian cunei- 
form in their correspondence and, kept official lists in it about B.C. 1400 — 1300. 

To the earliest period belong a rock-hewn altar, intended for libations and not for 
burnt sacrifices, and several jar-burials of newly born infants near it, similar to those 
at Gezer. The Semitic cult of sacred pillars was as marked as it was at Gezer, and in- 
fant and adult burials in connection with foundation rites were also found. 

In the first section (2a) of the second period (B.C. 1300 — iooo)Phcenician influence 
is still dominant. The town is Amorite, but a castle built towards the close of the 
period to overawe the people marks the adqent of a ruling (Israelite) power. In the 
second section (2b) of this period (B.C. 100 — 800) Taanach is Israelite, but foreign 
influences, especially Cypriote, are very marked. None of the jar-handles with royal 
stamps, which are found at all sites in Southern Palestine, have been discovered. 

The third period is that of Hellenic influence, but also the first section (B.C. 800 — 
608) is represented at Taanach. The art stratum (3a) is more sharply and distinctly 
defined than in Southern Palestine. To this period belongs the curious altar of incense 
in terra-cotta which was found in thirty-six fragments The altar has one 
handle, or "horn," remaining, and on its right side are, alternately, three animals with 



108 



Taanach 



human heads, and two lions whose fore-paws rest on the heads of the composite figures 
beneath them. The human heads have hairless faces, and sharp aggressive noses, a 
type having analogies with that of the very early Greeks. The head is in each case 
covered by a skull cap with projecting ears, an incised decorated border, and two tas- 
sels on the left side. 




CHANAANITE ALTAR 



The buildings at Taanach show that it must always have been a large fellah village, 
with houses of mud and stone, amongst which there was, here and there, the house of 
a sheikh or official. The art was that of a country town with simple but progressive 
•civilization. Here, as at Gezer, the principal divinity of the hill seems to have been 
Astarte. In the earliest Amorite deposits no figure of the goddess was found, but from 



Life at St. Etienne 



ion 



B.C. 1600 onward the images are common, and do not disappear until the stratum 3a is 
reached. During the Israelite period a new type seems to have come into fashion, and 
Dr. Sellin suggests that, although the general type was the same throughout Palestine, 
each city had its own variety. 

It is hard to follow these classes in French. Even in the best of them the method 
is poor. 

At ten o'clock Pere Lagrange began his class in Theologie Biblique. I followed 
with strained attention, and I could not find what he had in mind to say. 

At 4:15 p. m. I went again to the Church of the Holy Sepulchre, and made the 
procession. The Church is slowly sinking into a ruin. What its future fate shall be it is 
hard to say. After the procession I called at San Salvatore to see the Custode della 
Terra Santa. He was not at home. 

October 27th. — Arose at 4:00 o'clock a. m. It was full moonlight. The moon- 
light here is wonderful ; it is so clear and full. At 4 145 we arrived at the Holy Sepulchre. 
The Muezzin was calling the Mussulmans to prayer from the Minaret close to the Church 
of the Holy Sepulchre. He walks about the circular balustrade, and in a loud wailing 
voice repeatedly shouts his call. It is weird and dismal. 

The door of the Church was still closed. Through the small square opening in 
the door the Franciscan brother, the sacristan, told us that he had sent to call the door- 
keeper, but the infidel had not yet appeared. We waited perhaps twenty minutes be- 
fore he came. His coming was announced by a beadle who went before, striking the 
pavement with his truncheon. 

The doorkeeper unbarred the door, and we entered. I waited my turn, and at 
about 6:45 began my Mass. Then I walked back to the convent through the narrow 
dirty street. Poverty, dirt, and ignorance are the three characteristics of the people 
of this land. 

The weather is beautiful to-day, I sleep with my window fully open, and only a 
sheet as covering. At 10:30 a. m. we visited the Rt. Rev. Custodian of the Holy Land 
Mgr. Frediano Giannini. He is a most charming man. We obtained the privilege from 
him to say Mass at Bethlehem on Christmas morning; and what is more, to say Mass on 
a portable altar in the Garden of Gethsemane. This latter privilege has never before 
been granted. We are to go there next Thursday ; I am nervous lest something might 
occur to hinder the great event. 

In the afternoon I ascended Olivet, and contemplated the city from that height. 
From no other point can the city be seen as from the Mt. of Olives. To the eastward the 
Dead Sea is plainly visible, and the Mts. of Moab rising boldly on the other side. The 
whole land from the Mt. of Olives down to the Jordan is a vast desert. It is lonely, 
barren, and wild. The undulations in the landscape are very picturesque seen from 
the summit of the Mt. of Olives. 

October 28th. — Mass at 6:15 a. m. in the Church of St. Etienne. ■ Assisted at High 
Mass of the Apostles Simon and Jude at 7 :oo o'clock. Weather fine, sky hazy. At 
ten o'clock we had a lecture by Pere Vincent on the Topography of Jerusalem. His 
line of argument is to prove that there were always Christians at Jerusalem, so that 
the tradition regarding the holy places was handed down from those who were contem- 
porary with the events. His arguments are subtle, but not convincing. 

At 3:15 p. m. we had our class in Arabic. Nothing can be imagined more depress- 
ing than this Arabic. I feel a perfect repugnance for Pere Jaussen. He hastens over 



110 



Life at St. Etienne 



things in a pompous way, and gives clear evidence that he is proud to parade his know- 
ledge of Arabic. But he certainly knows not how to communicate his knowledge. 
He rattles along as though a man's mind were a kodak, taking impressions by instan- 
taneous processes. He was followed by Pere Dhorme, who teaches Assyriologv. He 
hastened somewhat, but is far more sympathetic and clear than Pere Jaussen. 

October 29th. — Mass at 6:05 a. m. at the Basilica of St. Etienne. Another new 
saint; St. Benvenuta a Dominican Virgin. 

At nine o'clock a class in Syriac. Pere Savignac explained all the four moods of 
the verb and the passive voice of every mood. It was an hour of torture. At ten o'clock 




BED OF KIDRON AND ABSALOM'S TOMB 

Pere Lagrange began his class. His idea of inspiration became clearer. Evidently he 
declared that the writers often employed legends; and he defined a legend to be the 
popular account of a historical fact. Hence there is room in such accounts for any 
number of popular traditions not strictly historical. 

After the class we visited Mgr. Piavi, the venerable Patriarch. He is ill, a slow 
illness which I fear will terminate in his death. He gave me jurisdiction to hear con- 
fessions in Jerusalem. Also he approved my celebret for Jerusalem. 

At 3:15 p. m. we went out for a walk. We went first to Gethsemane. The 
brother in charge was very kind. The Rt. Reverend Custodian had already advised 
him that he was to prepare the portable altar in the Garden, and prepare coffee for us. 



The Kidron Valley 



111 



Nothing can exceed the goodness of the Custodian. We shall say Mass under the great 
Olive tree in Gethsemane on Tuesday, the feast of all Saints. What a grand privilege! 
No one can doubt the authenticity of Gethsemane. Here we shall say Mass com- 
memorative of that grand event with which the Passion of Jesus commences. 

From Gethsemane we went over through the valley of Kidron to the Tomb falsely 
called Absalom's Tomb. I crawled into it. It is a square chamber perhaps eight feet 
bv eight. One can stand upright in it. The Tomb proper is Monolithic, hewn out of 
the rock. The superstructure is constructed of great blocks of stone. Its architec- 
ture shows that it is not older than the Greco-Roman period. In fact it appears to 
be of several periods. Mr. Flinders Petrie thus describes it : 




THE VIRGIN'S FOUNT AT JERUSALEM 

From the position of the entrance it was probably a rock tomb descending in the 
surface of the open field originally; the steps and rough chamber being of this age. 
Secondly, it was cut around and isolated in the Herodian age. Thirdly, the side re- 
cesses for bodies were cut in the sides of the chamber ; certainly later than the moulding 
round the top of the chamber, which is cut into by them. That the entrance at the top 
of the steps was used in the second period, is shown by the relief circle carved on the 
stone over it, which does not occur in any other part of the top." 

The other tombs close by are of the same date. 

From this point we went down to the Virgin's Fountain. The fount is down in 
a grotto several meters below the surface of the mountain. A flight of stone steps de- 
scends down to the source of the water. Here the women and girls of Jerusalem and 



112 



Like at St. Etienne 



also of the village of Siloah and from all about that side of Jerusalem come to draw 
water. Some carry it in goat skins, but most carry it in tin cans placed on their heads. 
From here we went down to the common meeting point of the Kidron Valley, the Tyro- 
pceon and the Wady er-Rababi. Here is placed the site of the ancient Tophet. Jeru- 
salem is surrounded on all sides except the north by a deep valley. It is hard to fix 
the exact site of Hinnom, Tophet, or of the Hakeldama. We walked entirely around 
Jerusalem. The abject poverty, dirt, and ignorance of the people living in the val- 
leys around Jerusalem are fearful. I can not see how they live. They have no occu- 
pation. The land is nought but rock and white chalky sand. All the rocky slopes 
round about Jerusalem are full of burial caves and tombs hewn out in the rock. 

October 30th. — Arose at 5.30. Mass on Calvary at 6.15. I offered it for my 
kindred and friends as usual. One sees here all the races and conditions of men. 
But there is an air here that ill fits the holy place. Race antipathy and religious 
hate divide all, and impresses on the heterogeneous throngs a spirit alien to the spirit 
of Christ. The hypocrisy and insincerity of the Greeks are apparent in every act 
that they perform. Only God knows the future; but humanly speaking the Church 
has little to to hope from the Greeks. 

At 4.15 p. m. we went to the Church of the Holy Sepulchre, and took part in the 
procession. It was the largest procession that I have yet seen. Many nuns were 
therein. It was a little more solemn than usual. They tried to harmonize some of 
the hymns; but the result was not very harmonious. The procession was followed 
by Benediction of the Blessed Sacrament. We went forth from the Church of the 
Holy Sepulchre, and went out through the Gate Bab Sitti Marjam to the Turkish 
Cemetery. They had just buried a man. It is a weird sight. After the burial the 
Imam stood and chanted or more properly shrieked the Muslim prayer. The grave 
is always bordered with stones forming a sort of parallelogram with the stony earth 
bare inside. The more pretentious tombs are box -like structures constructed of stone 
slabs. There are no fine Muslim tombs around Jerusalem. There are no Muslim 
millionaires here. Muhammadanism and its degraded superstition is an anachronism. 
It should be abolished. It is a disgrace that Christian Europe permits the horrid thing 
to exist. 

October 31st. — Vigil of All Saints. Strict fast. Mass at 6.15 in the Basilica 
of St. Etienne. Weather fine, hazy sky. Class at 10 a. m. on Geographie de la Terre 
Sainte. The theme was to ascertain the site of Bethulia. No profit in the class. 
The Prof, talks without precision or decision. Most of the time he mumbles to him- 
self. He did not decide anything about Bethulia. Of course the science must deal 
with conjectures, but it seems to me that one ought to present these conjectures in a 
more definite and interesting manner. 

Black-fast dinner. At 3.15 p. m. went for a promenade. We went down past 
the Sepulchre of the Kings into the upper Kidron Valley. Here on many sides are 
vast caves wherein the natural cave has been cut and fashioned most probably for 
burial places. Some of them are very large. All the hill-sides round about Jerusalem 
are filled with these caves. In some of them the Arabs live. 

We ascended Scopus, from whose summit the view all about is grand. The Dead 
Sea is clearly visible, and seems so near. The eye finds only a level spot north of 
Jerusalem. All the rest is a constant undulation of hills and narrow valleys. 

We went over to the summit of Mt. Olivet along the fine road built for Kaiser 
Wilhelm of Germany. From the summit of Olivet the view of Jerusalem is clear and 



Mass ix Gethsemaxe 



113 




THE PORTABLE ALTAR lX 
GETHSEMAXE 



all-embracing. We came down to the spot named by tradition as the place where 
Jesus wept. The chapel is small and ding;.-. A marble slab in the wall announces 
that a certain Scotch Marquis Stuart ordered that his heart should be buried in the 
Holy Land, and that it has been buried in the garden at- 
tached to the Chapel. The Arab guardian made haste to 
tell us that he was a Christian in order to have a Back- 
shish. All the creeds here at Jerusalem hold their Arab 
Christians by giving them houses to live in, or otherwise 
contributing to their support. It is said that at Madaba 
over beyond the Jordan there is a tribe which is Christian, 
and receives nothing from the missionary of the Church 
there. 

November ist. — Arose at 5.45. Morning slightly foggy. 
Went to the Garden of Gethsemane. Mass in the Garden 
proper on a portable altar. The first Mass in the Garden 
in its history. The altar faced Jerusalem. It was an awful 
thought to look over the Kidron Valley at the city irorn 
this place where Jesus prayed that sublime prayer on 
the night in which he was taken. I felt a great fervor 
and a great peace there. I should like to go alone to Gethsemane and pass the 
night there. All the Sanctuaries of the Mount of Olives are dear to me. Here it is 
certain that Jesus went often to pray. Here he passed the nights on its peaceful 
slope, away from the tur- moil and noise of the wicked Jerusalem. The soil of Olivet 
is sacred by contact with the sacred body of Jesus. Its soil is bathed with his tears 
and with his sweat of agony. Here upon the night air resounded that awful cry: 
"Father, if it be possible, let this chalice pass from me; yet not my will but thine 
be done." O climax of mystery! Here all the mysteries of the Incarnation converge, 
and find their, focus of mystery. The Son of God, equal, consubstantial with the 
Father. Mary's Son, true Man. falls hereupon his face in awful dread of the sufferings 
which he must undergo to redeem man; and bathed in a sweat of agony, he cries out 
to be delivered from the impending suffering, if it be possible. 

Far out upon the border of our "little world of man" we stand, helpless before 
that mfinitude of mystery: and we lift our voices up to the Redeemer, and ask for 

light to know the truth, and grace to do his will, 
even as He did the Father's will. 

Centuries have come and gone since that 
awful event. Jerusalem has seen dreadful scenes. 
The whole face of material nature has been 
changed. Even the place of Calvary and the 
Sepulchre are uncertain. The terrible vicissi- 
tudes through which the land has passed have 
made it impossible to identify the sites ot many 
great events of history. But the Mount of 
Olives stands there substantially unchanged; 
us to come close to the sublime historical 




AFTER THE MASS IX GETHSEMAXE 



and the Garden at its base assists 
personage of Jesus, who is for us all, absolutely all. 

I feel to-day as though the events of the Redemption had taken place in these 
davs. All other interests seem "stale, fiat, and unprofitable." The august form of 



114 



ZlON 



Jesus Christ stands out in the view of the mind's eye, drawing the intellect and will 
away from all baser issues, into the eternal truth which comes from the Light of the 
World. 

Good Brother Giulio, the custodian of Gethsemane, was most kind to us. After 
Mass he gave us coffee and bread, and did everything for our comfort. My Mass was 
offered for my kindred and friends, whose names are always placed on the Altar. At 
the Mass were present many Franciscan brothers, and some lay people, many of whom 
received Holy Communion. After my thanksgiving I collected a few olives which had 
fallen from the great old olive trees of the Garden. I shall employ the stones of these 
olives for rosaries. 

The day is quite warm at this hour, ten o'clock a. m. 

At 3 o'clock p. m. 1 went for a promenade out on the traditional Mt. Zion. Many 
modern archaeologists discard the old traditional Zion, and consider as the Zion of David 
the continuation of Ophel northward comprising the site of the Temple. What was 
formerly believed to be Zion is farther westward extending outside the present south- 
west angle of the walls of Jerusalem. In these archaeological questions it is impossible 
to have more than the probability of a hypothesis. I shall now try to examine whether 
the modern hypothesis has enough in its favor to overthrow the old hypothesis. 

Instead of speaking of Jerusalem as built on various hills, it would be more cor- 
rect to speak of it as built on the top of one large hill, whose top was broken into several 
small hills. On the east the deep valley of the Kidron runs almost north and south, 
being a little bent southwest by northeast. The slope of this valley towards Jeru- 
salem southward from a point some yards north of the site of the old temple is very 
steep, making a natural defense of the city and Temple from that side. To the south- 
east the three valleys, the Tyropneon, and the modern Wady er-Rababi meet in a com- 
mon point, in a very deep valley, where was probably the site of Tophet, and the 
idol of Moloch. From the south also the slope up to the city is high and very steep. 

The present walls of Jerusalem, which are of Arabic origin, have the old traditional 
Sion at the southwest angle and Ophel over opposite at the southeast angle outside 
the walls; but it is certain that the walls of the ancient city embraced both hills. 

One of the most difficult questions of the topography of Jerusalem is the identifi- 
cation of Mt. Zion. As in all such questions opinions are divided, and often acrimony 
enters into the controversy. As we have before stated, Jerusalem is divided into an 
eastern hill and a western hill by the Tyropceon valley. The upper portion of this val- 
ley was a mere slight depression of the soil so that men differ in tracing its course. As 
it proceeded southward its floor sank very rapidly, so that as it passed by the southern 
portion of the temple area, its bed was iop feet below the surface of the temple area. 
The temple area was a narrow ridge thus enclosed between the deep valley of the 
Kidron and the Tyropceon on the west. 

Many modern Palestinographers identify the temple area with Mt. Zion. Others 
locate Zion on the western hill. An examination of the soil of Jerusalem aids us but 
little to decide this question; the hills are there, but there is no landmark by which we 
may identify the ancient Zion. We must therefore look to the Holy Scriptures and 
to History to guide us to the Holy Mount. 

In the New Testament there is no topographical references that will aid us. The 
term Zion appears six times in the New Testament. Matthew, XXI. 5, and John, XII. 
15, simply repeat the prophecy of Zechariah, IX. 9, where the term Zion signifies Jeru- 
salem. In Hebrews, XII. 22, "Zion" is used in a mystic sense for the new Jerusalem. 



ZlON 



115 



In the Apocalypse, XIV. i, John saw in a vision the Tomb on Mt. Zion, but there is 
no further determination of place. St. Paul, Romans IX. 33, and St. Peter, I. Epist. 
II. 6, quoting from Isaiah employ the term Zion in a figurative sense. 

Though the New Testament does not determine the place of Mt. Zion, it is a fact 
which none deny that in all the ages of Christianity the western hill has been called 
Mt. Zion. The church built at the traditional place of the descent of the Holy Ghost 
which is on the western hill, was always called the church of Zion. All the pilgrims 
from the Pilgrim of Bordeaux, A.D. 333, to Ludolph von Suchem, A.D. 1350, with 
one accord, call the western hill of Jerusalem Mt. Zion. It is only in our own times that 




TRADITIONAL ZION FROM BETHLEHEM ROAD 



some have endeavored to set aside this old tradition, and point out the site of the 
Temple as Mt. Zion. Their arguments are reducible to two heads. 

1. They say that it is congruous that the Temple should be built on Zion, the 
holy Mount. 

2. It is clearly evident that in the Old Testament Mt. Zion and the Temple are 
synonymous. Throughout all the Psalter Zion is spoken of as the dwelling place of 
God, Ps. LXXIII. 2; LXX. 68-69; IX. 11; LXXV. 2; LXXXIII. 7; XCVIII. 2; CI. 16; 
CXXXI. 13-14. Isaiah. XVIII. 7, calls Mt. Zion the "place of the name of the Lord 
of hosts". Joel, III. 17, declares: "So shall ye know that I am the Lord your God, 



116 



ZlON 



dwelling in Zion, my holy mountain." In fact, it is usual for the prophets to speak of 
the "Lord who dwelleth in Zion. 

The writer of I. Maccabees, IV. 37-38, declares: "And all the army assembled 
together, and they went up into Mt. Zion. And they saw the Sanctuary desolate, and 
the altar profaned, and the gates burnt, and shrubs growing up in the courts as in a 
forest, or on the mountains, and the chambers joining to the Temple thrown down." 
This testimony conclusively affirms that the Temple was on Mt. Zion. It is confirmed 
by the sixtieth verse of the same chapter wherein it is declared: "They built up also 
at that time Mt. Zion with high walls, and strong towers round about, lest the Gentiles 
should at any time come, and tread it down as they did before." 

After razing the city Ephron, Judas Maccabeus gathered his army, "and they went 
up to Mount Zion with joy and gladness, and offered holocausts, because not one of 
them was slain, till they had returned in peace" — I. Maccab. V. 54. In I. Maccab., 
VII. 33-37 it is recorded that Nicanor went into the Temple on Mt. Zion. I. Maccab. 
XIV. 26 records that the tables of brass registering Simon's glorious deeds were set on 
pillars in Mt. Zion; the 48th verse of the same chapter declares that the tables were 
within the compass of the sanctuary. It is evident therefore that the site of the Tem- 
ple was identified with Mt. Zion. 

On the other hand, we have the entire Christian tradition in support of the western 
hill. It is difficult to believe that a tradition so universal and so concordant is without 
foundation. It is also remarkable that the men who accept tradition to establish the 
site of Golgotha, reject it in the question of Mt. Zion. Moreover in Holy Scripture 
we have a clear testimony that the western hill was Mt. Zion. In the I. Book of Kings 
(Vulg. III. Kings), VII. 1-6, we read: 

"Then Solomon assembled the elders of Israel, and all the heads of the tribes, the 
princes of the fathers' houses of the children of Israel, unto king Solomon in Jerusalem, 
to bring up the ark of the covenant of the Lord out of the city of David, which is Zion. 
And all the men of Israel assembled themselves unto king Solomon at the feast, in the 
month Ethanim, which is the seventh month, And all the elders of Israel came, and 
the priests took up the ark. And they brought up the ark of the Lord, and the tent 
of meeting, and all the holy vessels that were in the tent; even these did the priests 
and the Levites bring up. And king Solomon and a'l the congregation of Israel, that 
were assembled unto him, were with him before the ark, sacrificing sheep and oxen, that 
could not be told nor numbered for multitude. And the priests brought in the ark of 
the covenant of the Lord unto its place, unto the oracle of the house, to the most holy 
place, even under the wings of the cherubim." 

This testimony can mean nought else than that Solomon brought the Ark of the 
covenant out of the western hill over to the Temple on the eastern hill. It follows 
therefore that the old "City of David" was the western hill. I propose the following 
solution as the key to this enigma. 

Undoubtedly the western hill was the old "City of David" the original Mt. Zion. 
Here David took the stronghold of the Jebusites, called in Holy Scripture the strong- 
hold of Zion. The contemporary records of Holv Scripture of this period speak ex- 
clusively of the western hill as Zion. David built up his city and fortified it from the 
Tyropceon inwards: "And David built round about from Millo and inwards" — II. 
Sam. V. 9. The eastern hill at this time was called Moriah — II. Chron. III. 1. As 
we have said, it was divided from the western hill by a deep valley. Solomon filled 
up this valley, and the filling was called Millo from the HebreAv root "Mala," "to fill 



Ziox 



117 



up." "Solomon built Millo, and closed up the breach of the city of David his father." 
By this great work of Solomon the eastern hill became incorporated into the city of 
Jerusalem, and the whole city was called Zion. In the vastly greater number of places 
in the Bible Zion means the whole city of Jerusalem, including the eastern hill, which 
was no longer a separate hill, since the valley of division was filled up. On this eastern 
hill the Temple was built, and by this fact this part of Jerusalem became Zion by ex- 
cellence. So strongly did the Temple attract the name Zion to its site that in the days 
of the Maccabees, the site of the Temple was exclusively called Zion, as we have seen. 
Later on in Christian times, when the Temple was destroyed, and Jerusalem was in ruins, 
the name Zion went back to the original Mt. Zion of the days of David. 




THE ROAD FROM JERUSALEM TO BETHLEHEM 

The valley, now called Wady er-Rababi, forms the southern boundary of the site 
of the ancient city. Its continuation northward along the western boundary of Jeru- 
salem is called the Valley of Hinnom. Here also the hillside sloping down from Jeru- 
salem is verv steep. But as one advances northward the bed of the valley rises 
so that to the northwest and along the north the land stretching away from Jerusalem 
is level. It was only from this side that the city was unprotected by a natural de- 
fense. It was to render the city secure from this side that Agrippa built his great 
wall to enclose Bezetha which was the natural expansion of the city to the north. 
The city could not expand southward, eastward, or westward. The deep valleys 
before mentioned prevented expansion in these directions; hence quite naturally it 
grew toward the north, rendering a new wall of defense necessary. The same con- 



US 



Jerusalem 



diticn of things exists to-day. Northward of the present walls of Jerusalem are 
various colonies and many large buildings of various kinds. 

We passed through the dirty streets of the city, sickened by the foul odors, 
and the palpable evidence of a degradation of man which has passed all bounds. These 
wretched creatures seem to revel in dirt. They know nothing better. 

The shops are dark and dirty. A glass window in the great Bazaar is an unknown 
quantity. One can in all truth liken the main streets of Jerusalem to a narrow passage 
running between a succession of caves on either side. Often the way is vaulted 
overhead, and this adds to the darkness and its stench. The meat -markets are hor- 
rible. The total stock in trade of these consists of the carcass of one sheep; or at most 




BRINGING THE GRIST TO THE MILL 



the carcasses of two sheep. Ice is not employed. The flesh hangs there covered with 
flies creating in the mind of the European a painful feeling of disgust. One meets 
everywhere the patient camel and the ass. They carry all the freight of the city and 
country round about. All the stone used in the great modern buildings in and about 
Jerusalem has been brought up from the quarries on the backs of camels. Nature 
has been kind in providing the camel for the Arab. The beast will live on straw in 
which a little meal or grain of any kind is mixed. He can endure for five or six days 
without water. He is adapted to stand the heat, and he is a patient beast of burden. 
When his master indicates his will by a tug at the halter, the camel kneels to receive 
his burden. He cries an almost human cry as the heavy burden is placed on his back. 
He rises at the bidding of his master, and goes forth with solemn tread to his destination. 



The Modern Inhabitants of Palestine 



119 



The Arab is by nature cruel. He takes a delight in beating all beasts, especially 
the poor galled asses and the wretched horses which bring the travelers from the rail- 
road station to the city. 

As some knowledge of the modern inhabitants of Palestine is necessary to under- 
stand what I shall relate, I shall here draw from the excellent treatise on the Immov- 
able East by Mr. P. J. Baldensperger who was born in the East: 




A JEW OF JERUSALEM 



"With but few exceptions, Palestine has remained what it was since the days when 
first we hear of its existence: "The land that I will shew thee" (Gen. xii. i). In the 
following description great pains have been taken to describe the manners, customs, 
everyday objects, clothes, and so forth of the people of the Holy Land, "Makadsy", 
as they are styled by Arabic-speaking people out of the country, and to compare 
them with those of the former inhabitants — the Jews (Jehud), not excluding the 
earlier dwellers in the land. 



120 



The Modern Inhabitants of Palestine 



The most striking feature in the East, especially to the traveler, is the difference 
in the clothing of the various classes, which almost make them seem like separate 
nations, from the serene Effendi, in his fur overcoat and spotless white turban, to the 
spare and almost naked Bedawy, in his short shirt and almost colorless and dirty 
Keffiyeh or headcloth. The Franjy appears here and there in the towns, and is at once 
recognized, not merely by his European clothing, which has been generally adopted,, 
but more especially by his hat, the hated burneitah. Franjy, a corruption of Frank, 
was the official name of Roman Catholics or Western Christians. Protestants were 
unknown to the masses up to the time of the Crimean War, and still in some degree up 
to as late as 1870. The Russians or Moskob are known as the ancient enemies of the 
Empire. The Armenians are Turkish subjects. By degrees the several nations of 
the West became known, first in the towns, and then in a few villages around important 
centres; but to the mass of the people, and especially in out-of-the-way villages, the 
Christians are known only as Nassara, or Nazarenes, a nation opposed to Islam. The 
Crimean War showed the French and English as separate nations, although the English 
had already become known in Jerusalem by the establishment of the Anglican bishopric, 
and Protestants were all termed Ingliz. The Austrians are designated by the name 
of Namsa, which was formerly also the generic name for the Germans. The Spaniards 
and Italians made known their existence, the former by the Spanish pillar dollar so 
current some thirty or forty years ago, and the latter by the Franciscan schools. The 
" Mallakan," or Americans, became known through the settlers, who were forerunners 
of the Germans, at Jaffa, and the latter, together with the fame of the Franco-German 
War, changed the name Namsa into Brussian. The latest comers were the Jewish 
settlers, who began to arrive about 1880, owing to their persecution in Russia. In 
the country districts the Jehud were before known only as pilgrims, with their long 
flowing garments, their curls on their temples, and their dirty woebegone appearance. 
They now appear in a new style, which has brought them up to the level of Christian 
settlers ; and through all these movements the people of the country have become aware 
that many nations exist beyond the seas, each speaking a different language from their 
own, and belonging to different creeds. But all these are " outlanders," and have, 
in reality, nothing to do with the older inhabitants of the country — the Makadsy, 
Jews, and Canaanites. Meanwhile the Christian indigenous population also have eman- 
cipated themselves to some extent, by wearing the tarbush without the turban, and 
by taking to the European mode of clothing, the hat a' one excepted. This national 
feature, the tarbush, marks the great line of distinction, the watershed, as it were, 
between Orientals and Occidentals. # 

As the country is gradually being improved, it is necessary to go back for a moment 
to the sixties of last century, and banish from our thoughts such innovations as car- 
riage roads, the first of which was made in 1869, to receive the Austrian Emperor and 
other princes, who were present at the opening of the Suez Canal. 

Strictly speaking, the population is divided into three great and distinct classes: 
The townsmen, Madaniyeh, the fellahin, and the Bedu, or Arab in the plural form. 
These last mentioned are always called Bedawin in European books, but in the country 
they are known only as Bedawy in the singular and 'Arab' in the plural, the latter 
name, as remarked by Colonel Conder, being used by the Bedawin, and the former by 
the settled population (Quarterly statement, July, 1901, p. 252). 

According to a legend current amongst the natives, the origin of the division of 
classes goes back to the time of the founder of Islam. A man had four sons, whom he 



The Modern Inhabitants of Palestine 121 

wished to start in life, each according to his own inclination. So he called them together 
and said to them: "My sons, you are now old enough to look after yourselves; choose 
whatever you please, and leave your home." The eldest, Abu Ahmad, chose a cow 
and a plough, and became the father of the tillers or Fellahin. Abu Razek, the second, 
asked for a shop, and became father of the possessors, as his name indicates, and of the 
traders in towns. Abu 'Othman, the third, took a horse, and became father of the 
intrepid horsemen, the Ottoman Turks. Abu Swelem, the last, rode off on a camel, 
and became father of the camel-possessing Bedawin. In common conversation these 
four classes are now often referred to by the above nicknames. They differ from one 
another in appearance, costume, habits, and character; and must be studied separately. 
We propose, accordingly, to commence with the townsman. 

The townspeople call themselves Madaniyeh or Hadar. In Palestine proper the 
chief towns are Jerusalem, Jaffa, Ramleh, Lydda, Hebron, Gaza, and Nabulus; though 
some large villages claim the name of Hadar, such as Kuryet el 'Enab, Bir Ma'in, 
and others. The Madany is of a commercial turn of mind, but artisans are numerous 
in towns. Persons of the same calling usually have their shops in the same street, 
but in Jerusalem and Jaffa there is a tendency to spread about in every direction. 

Every Oriental town has its Apothecaries' or Perfumers' Street, its Butchers' 
Street, Shoemakers' Street, and so forth. The grouping of the people of the same call- 
ing in one street renders advertisements unnecessary, as everyone knows where to find 
the shop he wants. Newspapers in the Arabic language are not printed in Palestine. 
All the Arabic papers are published in Syria or in Egypt, and even these are not much 
read by inhabitants of Palestine towns — at least not by the trading and working classes, 
who are mostly illiterate. The upper ten, or Effendiyeh, generally read, write, and 
speak as correctly as possible, omitting all slang expressions, speaking slowly and clear- 
ly, and giving every letter its right pronunciation. They are still to a great extent 
the rich landowners, and, together with the Turkish officials, form the most influential 
class in municipal and Government matters. They address each other, or Arabic- 
speaking Europeans, with the complimentary title, "thy highness " or "thy excellency" 
while in general the second person singular, "thou," is used. 

Turning to the traders and artisans we find that the most indispensable is : — 

(a) The grocer, called Samman in Palestine, and Bakkal in Egypt. The former 
term is derived from samn, butter prepared for culinary purposes. He sells all kinds 
of dried fruits, and olive and sesame oil. The shamn (shemen) of the Hebrews included 
every fatty substance ; and when olive oil was expressly meant zayith (the Arabic 
zait) was employed in addition. Almost all the buying and selling are done in the 
street, as the shops are usually too small to admit more than one person, viz., the owner, 
who thus overlooks his goods, which are in huge baskets before him, so that his cus- 
tomers are served outside without his stepping out of his shop. As already remarked, 
the towns of more importance, as Jerusalem, Jaffa, and Haifa, are being rapidly trans- 
formed, and broader streets and larger shops are, under European influence, making 
their way. The Muhammadan quarters of these towns, and of all minor towns, have 
remained very much as they were in ancient times. 

(b) The perfumers' street, Haret il-'atarin, as the name indicates, smells of Oriental 
spices a good way off. All kinds of spices are sold in it, and the shops are even more 
tiny than those of the grocers; often the shopkeeper can barely turn around in them. 
The perfumer can reach almost any of his articles, kept as they are in the oval wooden 
boxes piled up on the shelves, without getting up from his seat, and many of the goods 



122 



The Modern 



Inhabitants 



of Palestine 



are stowed under the seat. Thus he sits in the midst of his merchandise, whilst ir> 
front of him is the mortar and pestle, ever ready to pound cinnamon, pepper, &c. The 
oval boxes on the shelves bear a label indicating, in Arabic handwriting, their contents, 
as the perfumer generally belongs to the more educated class. As the streets are very 
narrow, two persons can hardly walk abreast; and progress, owing to the crowd, is 
very slow, a circumstance which the shopkeeper takes advantage of to praise his goods, 
and to intimate that he can sell them cheaper than his next neighbor, and that they 
are more genuine. All equestrian outfits, as Arab saddles, bridles, Bedawin boots, 
and tassels of Damascus manufacture, adorn and almost close up the entrance of the 
shops, and, as they project into the street, these often reach the goods of a similar 
merchant opposite. A ride through these streets is, therefore, exceedingly disagree- 
able both to horseman and perfumer, to say nothing of the passers-by. Ask a per- 
fumer whether he has any article, he always answers in the affirmative, even though 
he has to get it from a neighbor, and hence the proverb, " Everything is to be had at 
the perfumer's except love me by force." 

If business taking any length of time is on hand, a low stool is placed in the street, 
and, in less time than it takes to write this, the coffee-house keeper round the corner 
receives a hint, hurries along with a coffee pot and some tiny cups in his hands, and 
offers the introductory cup, without which no serious business is undertaken. When 
this has been partaken of, mostly on the shopkeeper's account, business is proceeded 
with. Gunpowder and all hunting materials are to be had, as well as seeds of all kinds 
for the agriculturist, and medicines; for the perfumer is often a bit of a quack. The 
shopkeepers pull down a network curtain over the entrance of their shops when on an 
errand or at prayers; nobody ever approaches them then, and thefts are practically 
unknown . 

(c) The coffee-shop (kahwy) is generally at the corner of some important street, 
and is the meeting-place of all strangers, Fellah or Bedawy, when they have finished 
their business. Here everybody, whether friend or foe, is expected to be found, and 
as a consequence of the usefulness of these establishments, they are not all confined to 
one place, but are spread over the whole town, and are to be found especially near 
the gates. With those at the gates a khan is usually combined, where the animals 
can be left in the vast stables for a few coppers, whilst -the owners go about their busi- 
ness in the town. In the coffee-house business transactions are easily carried on, and 
secrets confided, as the voices are drowned by the loud talking on all sides, the sipping 
of the hot coffee-cup, and the bubbling of the water in the argileh (this is the Palestine 
pronunciation, without an initial n), especially as the two persons are seated on low 
chairs close to each other. 

The gate is the most natural place to meet anyone coming to town or going back 
to the country; and therefore Boaz met his kinsman there (Ruth iv. i). The street 
gatherings were the most solemn ones; discourses and speeches were of course public, 
as they still are, everyone can thus attend them, and large halls are dispensed with. 
King Hezekiah brought the Levites into the street to consult with them (2 Chron. 
xxix. 4). Ezra assembled the people into the street before the temple (Ezra x. 9), and 
before the Water Gate (Neh. viii. 1). Job in his affliction longs for the days when he 
could go down and sit in the street (Job xxix. 7), as every citizen now does, to "smell 
the air." 

The establishment of the barber, Halak, is sometimes combined with the coffee 
shop, as most people meet there, and not onlv often desire to be shaved, but find in 



The Moderx Inhabitants of Palestine 



123 



the barber a medicine man, who has leeches, or who bleeds them by cutting the ears 
with his sharp razors. The Muslims, both of the town and country, shave the hair 
of the head, as well as the sides of the beard — that is, below the chin and on the cheeks. 
The Madanv calls the shaA'ing halek. The Levites were ordered not to make 
anv ''baldness on their heads, neither to shave the corner (or side) of the beard" 
(Lev. xxi. 5), as the modern barber does. The Fellahin do not use the term halek, 




AN ORIENTAL BARBER 



but sav tazvin. that is. '"beautifying" or "adorning:" and we may conclude that this 
beautifying is an innovation among the country people, though perhaps as old as 
Islam. It is clear, however, that it has always existed. Trimming the hair was 
practised with the scissors. "Mekass*', and frequently a Fellah may yet say for "cut 
my hair," Kuss rasi (lit. "cut my head"), meaning "shave my head." Job, when 
he received the bad news of the destruction of his family and animals, follows the same 
usage (Job i. 20). Absalom had his hair (lit. his head) cut once a year (2 Sam. xiv. 



124 



The Modern Inhabitants of Palestine 



26), and the shaving of the hair on special occasions — e.g., in times of mourning — 
is well known to all. Modern razors are termed Mus mehlak in the towns, and Mus 
Mizyan in the country. The Israelites had also used two different terms for razor: 
(1 ) the Ta'ar, which was really nothing more than a knife; (2) the Morah, mentioned as 
early as in the days of the Judges (Judges xiii. 5, xvi. 17:1 Sam. i. 11). The Fellahin 
use their common knives to shave each other, for every fellah is a barber, and does 
not need a "hired razor," as was threatened to the Jews (Isaiah vii. 20). 

(e) The greengrocer and the butcher are the noisiest of tradesmen in the towns. 
This is evidently in consequence of their intercourse with the fellahin, who brings in 
the vegetables and who quarrel about the prices. The dogs of the slaughter-house 
with which the butcher has to contend, and the animals he slays augment the noise. 

The greengrocer, Khudari, or, with a Turkish termination, Khudarjy, has to rise 
very early in the morning and way-lay the vegetable-growing farmers on their way 
to the market, often miles before they reach the town. Especially is this the case at 
Jerusalem. Jaffa grows its vegetables close to the town, and the other towns are 
more agricultural, and have no need of the great supply which Jerusalem requires. 
In fact, Jerusalem receives vegetables from Jaffa, Ramleh, Gaza, and other places. 

The fellah defends his fruits and vegetables against the greengrocer, and with the 
more energy if the latter seems anxious to buy them. Quarreling and screaming, 
they arrive in town, and the price agreed upon may often be refused, even when the 
fruit is already in the shop, when fresh shouting, cursing, and swearing take place; it 
is no wonder, therefore, that the greengrocer is such a noisy fellow. The vegetables 
are arranged in heaps, and the fruit is not nicely put before the public as in Western 
cities; but this does not affect the buyers, who have never seen anything better. Many 
greengrocers have no time or energy to waste on the fellahin, and a special class of 
middlemen, or brokers, viz.: — 

(f) The Matrabassy, or Samasry, make a living out of this calling. In former 
times, when the gates of Jerusalem were not opened before sunrise, the Samasry were 
exclusively from Neby Daud, outside the Zion Gate. Charcoal, wood, lime, and the 
like, are now commonly bought and sold by them. As the country became safer, 
they went further and further away, and may now often be seen in distant villages 
seeing what may possibly be sent to the town, and paying the " earnest -money," or 
'Arrabon, which of course is lost, if the buyer afterwards changes his mind. In the 
Bible 'erabon, is only mentioned in Genesis xxxviii. 17, when Tamar took a "pledge" 
from Judah. This word was probably transported by the Phoenicians to Greece, 
and from the Greeks to Marseilles, whence it becomes the French "arrhes." The 
difference between an 'arrabon, or pledge (which is lost in case of the bargain not being 
fulfilled, or which is counted in the sum to be paid after the deliverance of the article), 
and a rahen which is generally an article to be held till payment of a debt, is great. 

The Samasry have much to do with the Jewish quarter, as Jews do not, as a rule, 
learn Arabic easily, although it is a kindred language of the Hebrew, and they certainly 
cannot pronounce it correctly. These brokers, therefore, learn the "Siknaji," or 
" Jiddish-Daitsch," spoken by most East-European Jews. The sephardim, on the 
other hand, have become very much Orientalized, and speak Arabic tolerably well, 
together with Jewish-Spanish and a little " Jiddish-Daitsch." The middleman may 
be called a necessary evil, well known to every family residing at Jerusalem, whether 
European or not. 



The Modern Inhabitants of Palestine 



125 



(g) The butcher (lahham) wears a blue overcoat of cotton cloth, and has his mut- 
ton and goats' flesh hanging in front of his shop, which is besieged by dogs, ever ready 
to snatch away odd bits. The Muslim butcher never sells veal or beef; camel's flesh 
is sold by some, and is known by its large size and dirty yellow color. The shop is 
tolerably clean. The meat is cut up on huge wooden blocks standing in front, and it 
is required for Mahshi, the favorite dish of all townspeople ; it is chopped small on a 
board with great dexterity in a few minutes. 

In Jerusalem the animals were formerly killed in the town near where the Ger- 
man " Erloserkirche " now stands, but some years ago the slaughtering place, or Mes- 
lakh, lit., "skinning place," was transferred beyond the walls of the city, as the popu- 
lation grew more dense and the outside became more safe. The older name midhbah, 
which also means an altar, is rarely used now. 

The Meslakh was at first in the open air outside the dung-gate, but has been 
recently removed to the north-east of the city, where a proper building has been erected 
for it. It is surrounded by filth, and attracts dogs and vultures by day, jackals, and 
even hyaenas, by night. The dogs lying about the slaughtering place are the laziest 
of their kind, and do not bark at the approach of strangers. Soiled with blood and 
filth, and gorged with food, they claim a sort of proprietorship of the Meslakh. The 
proverb is quite right which says: Zey klab el-meslakh bitmanu el-jua war-rahat 
"As the dogs of the slaughtering-place, they long for hunger and rest." The prophet 
Isaiah (lvi. 10), in speaking of lazy watchmen, alludes to these dogs which do not 
watch. "They are all dumb dogs, they cannot bark; sleeping, lying down, loving to 
slumber." The dogs lying about are a very useful feature of Eastern towns, verit- 
able hygienic police, as they lick up all blood, and eat bits of food which fall (i Kings 
xxi. 19, 23). These dogs are found everywhere in the town, and have quite a regular 
organization of their own; every dog knows his quarter, and lives and dies there. One 
is leader of the gang, composed of a dozen or more, who tolerate no others in their 
district. Any strange dog is at once detected and chased by the whole band. This 
state of affairs is certainly very old. In the parable of the rich man and Lazarus 
(Luke xvi. 21) the familiar street dogs knew the mendicant and licked his sores. 
When the leader grows old a second mate takes the leadership, and becomes absolute 
master when the old one dies. The bitches have their young ones in some out-of-the 
way corner of the street, and those of the new generation who manage to escape the 
many dangers which lurk in their way as they grow up — in shape of boys ill-using 
them, or animals of greater size stamping on them, and breaking their limbs as 
they push past in the narrow streets — fill up the missing street contingent. The 
dogs may know more particularly one or other of the shopkeepers or passers-by. 
but their affection is chiefly set on their street or quarter. A man also may have a liking 
for one of the dogs, usually the leader, and will speak kind words to him occasionally, 
but never caress him by putting his hand upon him. The dog is essentially unclean 
to Muslims, and the native Christians partake of the same disgust. In the beginning 
of the seventies of last century, a dog, known by the name of Tubbal, was leader of a 
gang inside the Jaffa Gate. His sway extended down to the greengrocers' street at 
the end of Christian Street, and around the Tower of Hippicus, the military barracks, 
and the little street north of the English Church. Everybody in the quarter knew 
Tubbal, who was as proud as he was ugly, with his crooked leg and one eye, both of 
which injuries he had received in a terrible "frontier skirmish" from the dogs of the 
Latin-Patriarchate quarter. His rough, unkempt hair, and large head with short 



126 



The Modern Inhabitants of Palestine 



ears, gave him some resemblance to a hyaena, but his uncertain color — dirty yellow 
mixed with greyish-white — showed him to be the real typical dog of the Jerusalem 
streets. These dogs not only pick up all edible rubbish which they can digest, but also 
keep sharp watch at night, and bark at any suspicious shadow or unaccustomed noise, 
and, in short, behave as if they were absolute masters of the streets. The Psalmist 
felt how disagreeable they were at night, for of his enemies he says: "They return at 
evening; they make a noise like a dog, and go round about the city" (Psalm lix. 6). 
The food they pick up is scanty to those who are not favorites, or who are in bad streets. 
The dogs in the butchers' streets always find bones or odd bits of meat more plentiful 
than those in the shoemakers' street. They receive some food from the shopkeepers, 
but the better a town is kept the less they find to eat ; and the time is fast disappearing 
when carcasses were thrown into some ruined house and the dogs feasted on it. Hunger 
is their lot, and " they shall wander up and down for meat, and tarry all night if they be 
not satisfied" (Psalm lix. 15). 

(h) The bakers (khabbar, sing.) are not all confined to one street, as in the days 
of the kings of Judah, when Jeremiah in prison received daily a loaf of bread from the 
bakers' street (Jerem. xxxvii. 21). They have their ovens in some out-of-the-way 
place, partly so as not to annoy the neighbors with the smoke; and partly because they 
require space for the thorns and bushes with which they heat their ovens. These 
ovens, called 'furn' are not the old ovens, and are perhaps the cause why the bakers 
are no longer in one street. The furn is an innovation of crusading days, from the 
French " fourneau " (Lat., furnus). The Jewish ovens were smaller, and were called 
tannur, such as are now used in the country places under the name of tabun, or tannur. 
The inhabitants of the towns never bake their bread at home, but send the dough to the 
ovens, and have it baked for 10 paras, i.e., about a halfpenny, the whole being eaten 
by the family in the same day. "Send the bread to the baker, even if he eat the half," 
is a saying meaning, "Better to have the bread thoroughly baked, even though the 
weight be less." 

In Ramleh and Lydda the women prepare the dough and watch for the first 
passer-by who is not a stranger to carry it to the oven, wait till it is ready, and bring 
it back to the house. Of course he does not receive more than "Thank you," even if 
he gets so much. 

Bread is also sold in the streets by men carrying it about on boards, and calling out 
"Bread; warm bread; cakes," and so forth. The loaf of bread is small and flat, hardly 
enough for a meal. The cakes are of a whiter flour, and sprinkled with roasted sesame 
seeds; they are sold as cheap as bread — that is, 5 and 10 paras a piece. The cakes of 
the townsman are not the same as the ka'k of the country people, who call the unleav- 
ened loaves prepared in haste ka'k. These answer to the 'uggah, or cake, which 
the angel prepared for Eliah sleeping under the Juniper tree (1 Kings xix. 6). The 
town cakes are bought by all classes, and eaten in the streets. 

(i) The confectioner, Halawany, is known in all towns, selling pies and sweets as 
mutababak, made of a thin paste, almonds, and nuts, sweetened with honey or sugar, 
and folded together several times, as the name indicates, and forming a thick, luscious 
cake. The fellahin also make such sweets, but of coarser kind. The baklawy is a 
Turkish cake of almond and sugar cut in small lozenges. It is sold by weight, and eaten 
mostly in the shop dripping with sugar and fat. The tamriyeh is, as the name shows, 
made of dates, and is also sold in small square cakes. It is a little drier and cheaper 
than the above, and sells for 10 paras a piece, whilst the others are two or three times 



The Modern" Ixhabitaxts of Palestine 



127 



as dear; the sellers go about with it and call it out in the streets. The knafyeh is a 
very fat and sweet paste, with nuts; it is sold by weight. The ma'mul is a dry, conical 
cake, made of semolina, stuffed with pistachios, and sprinkled with dry sugar. This 
is also made at home, and figures at the meal of the principal feasts, especially at Easter. 
The hallawv is made of honey and sesame flour in large masses, and cut with large 
knives for sale by weight. There are different kinds of this hallawv, made with sesame 
seeds, and called hallawv simsomiyeh, or with nuts and called nut hallawv, &c. The 
karabeej halab, as the name indicates, are an Aleppo invention: oval cakes, about the 
size of an egg, made of semolina stuffed with nuts and pistachios, and drowned in a 
thick semi-liquid white sugar cream. It is sold at about 20 paras a piece, and is amongst 




TWO WOMEN GRINDING AT THE MILL 

the dearest of these sweets. The well-known rahat el-halkom, of Damascus manufac- 
ture, renowned as "Turkish delight," is sold in round wooden boxes, or retailed at 5 
paras a piece. Though most of these sweets are sold in the shops, all in one street, 
they are also retailed in the streets by men carrying them on copper trays, especially 
during the long Ramadan evenings, when night is almost turned to day, and when the 
savings of the whole year are so readily spent. People who all the year do not taste 
sweets now indulge in them. The Israelites also made various kinds of sweetmeats, 
such as the simmukim (or cakes of raisins) of Abigail, and the rekikim (the rakaik of the 
Bedawin), also the lebibah, which Tamar prepared for Amnon, and others. 

(k) The miller (tahhan) is only known in or about towns, as in the countrv ever\" 
house has its own mill. The horse-mills are generally in obscure streets and under- 



12S 



The Modern Inhabitants of Palestine 



ground — perhaps a survival of the times when they were driven by prisoners of war. 
Samson was made to grind in the prison-house (Judges xvi. 21), and the prophet Jere- 
miah laments for the young men who have to grind (Lam. v. 13) as prisoners of war. 
In towns the wheat is carried to the mill, and is ground for 10 or 15 paras the rotl 
(about 6 lbs). In the Plain of Sharon, along the River 'Aujeh, there are water-mills 
belonging to the Government; the fellahin of the plain carry their wheat there, as the 
hand process is getting too slow in these busy days, when even the fellah is beginning 
to grasp the idea of "Time is money." The large mills, as well as the hand mills, are 
called tahunet, the root of which, meaning "to grind," is found in the Hebrew of the 
passages above mentioned. But the Hebrew hand-mill was called rehayim (Num. 
xi. 8). The name it still bears in many places in Egypt is raha. 

(1) The tailor, or " sewer" (khayyat), as he is called, is seen in every town squat- 
ting on his elevated bench, and stitching garments together, or embroidering in black, 
silver, or gold upon the jackets and waistcoats, or about the pockets of the broad, 
native trousers (libas). The last -mentioned articles of clothing are also called sirwal, 
which is taken by some to answer to the sarbelin of Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego 
(Dan. iii. 21 ) when they were thrown into the fiery furnace with all their clothes. The 
Authorized Version has "coats" or "mantles," but the Revised Version "hosen." 
The waistcoat (sideriyet) is not mentioned in the Bible, nor is the short jacket (jubbat), 
on which is sewed the greater part of the embroidery, called kasab in the vulgar speech. 
Clothes are generally made to order, not prepared beforehand for sale, as they are 
very costly, and the tailor cannot afford to invest money in goods that may never be 
asked for. 

(m) The shoemaker, skafi, does not make the European black boots and shoes, 
only the soft red and yellow shoes of tanned sheep-skins, dyed red for the men and yel- 
low for the women, and, in days now gone by, black for the Christians and Jews. These 
shoes are called surmayet, and are to be kept distinct from the coarser shoes worn by 
the fellahin (watta or madas). The surmayet are generally made with the traditional 
point in front turning up, whilst the fellahin shoes are without this ornament, and are 
roughly tanned, the hair of the animal often covering the upper part of the shoe. 
The skins of cows and oxen for the upper part, and of camels for the soles) are imper- 
fectly tanned and thrown down in the street before the shop, where the passers-by com- 
plete the tanning by walking on them. The red shoes of the men are low, and do not 
reach above the ankles; but the yellow shoes of the women are more like boots, and 
cover all the bare part of the feet. The shoes of the fellahin are made very high, and 
are buttoned in front by a leather button, to prevent the thorns and thistles hurting 
the feet while harvesting; they are only worn for hard work. Shoes are not made to 
measure, but the shoemaker has quantities on hand, and the customer is fitted as well 
as possible. The fellah woman has a somewhat lighter and, to some extent, a more 
elegant shoe, sometimes made of yellow leather — a rough imitation of that worn by 
her sister in the town. 

The Bedawy sandal na'l, is the na'al of the Scriptures, and, as a rule, is not made 
by the ordinary tradesman, but by a wandering shoemaker, generally an Algerian 
Jew, who puts up his temporary shop at the corner of a street, and thus can afford to 
make cheap sandals and do repairs for a few coppers. 

Several other names for shoes are used in Egypt, as markub, hedha, and khef, 
or easy shoes; but none of them are philologically connected with any Hebrew term. 
In general, the Hebrews, from the time of Abraham to the days of St. John the Baptist 



The Modern Ixhabitaxts of Palestine 



129 



(Gen. xiv. 23; Luke iii. 16), wore the na'l of the Bedawin. But' in towns, especially in 
Jerusalem, a more valuable shoe, made of tahash, a particular kind of leather (Ezek. 
xvi. 10), was worn by the higher classes only. The kabkab is a high wooden clog, 
often inlaid with mother-of-pearl, and with satin straps embroidered with silver or 
gold. The huge red Bedawin boots (jizmet) with blue tassels and iron heels are of 
Damascus manufacture, and were probably worn by the inhabitants of Asher, who 
imported them from their commercial neighbors the Phoenicians, since in Deut. xxxiii. 
25. we read: " Of Asher he (Moses) said .... thy shoes shall be iron and brass." 
Town shoemakers now establish themselves also in the larger villages and small towns 




RAMAIXrAH— AX IDEAL ARAB VILLAGE 



such as Bethlehem. Beth Jala, and Ramallah, where even the European kindarjv is also 
found. The shoe and boot are types of humiliation: speaking of a shoemaker, it is 
polite to say Ba'id minak skafi — " Far (be it) from you, a shoemaker." The shoe is a 
vile object in the East, and it must never be mentioned with am^hing clean — e.g., a 
part of the head, food, &c. — and it is therefore a great insult to call anvone "a shoe." 
The Prophet Amos deplores the selling of the poor for a pair of shoes (Amos ii. 6; viii. 
6), a humiliation which was not to remain unpunished. To kill a man with a shoe is 
contemptible, and. if anything, increases the sorrow of the death. King David, 
having conquered Edom and put garrisons there, says, "Over Edom will I cast my 
shoe" (Ps. lx. 8), as though the victory were not sufficient without this humiliation. 



130 



The Modern Inhabitants of Palestine 



(n) The tanner (dabbagh) is of course required where skins are turned into shoes 
and other articles. Besides the odor of the badly tanned skins or putrid particles ad- 
hering to them, a number of foul-smelling ingredients are employed, and consequently 
the tannery is as far away as possible from the towns. The proverbs says: "God 
curse the tannery, which needs dog's dirt." At Jerusalem the tanneries are near the 
spring of Siloah, at Jaffa, and Haifa on the seashore, and at Ramleh outside in the gar- 
dens beside the water-wheels. 

The tanner is mentioned in the New Testament (Acts ix. 43), and the traditional 
house of Simon the tanner is still shown at Jaffa, but in the old Testament there is no 
allusion to tanning. Yet we must suppose that the Israelites had tanned skins and 
leather. Adam and Eve had coats of skin or leather. Moses also made a covering for 
the tabernacle of ramskins dyed red, like the red ramskins of modern days (Exod. 
xxxix. 34). The mention also of the fine shoes in Cant. vii. 1, presupposes some 
knowledge of tanning. The prophet Eliah, besides the over-mantle of the fellahm, 
also wore a leather girdle (2 Kings i. 8) which was tanned on one side. 

(o) The dyers (sabbagh) are mostly dyers in blue, though black, red, and green 
also are sometimes required by country women for their veils, and for wool to be woven 
into the carpets. The better class wear cloth, but the workmen and traders have a 
blue blouse, which they wear over their other clothes. The sheeting is brought and 
given to the dyer. The indigo, or nilat, from the Nile is employed. The 
dyers are mostly confined to one street, and the long dyed stripes of sheeting are to be 
seen suspended along the houses, the ends being secured to the flat roofs by stones. 
The country women, with the exception of the inhabitants of some villages in the north, 
wear blue-dyed shirting, and all Bedawin women are clad in dark blue. The modern 
dyers are now mostly Muhammadans, and have probably learnt the trade from the 
Jews, who, in the Middle Ages, were the dyers in the country. In Jerusalem, and 
probably in many other places also, they paid an annual sum to the King for the exclu- 
sive right of dyeing. Benjamin of Tudela, enumerating the Jews in his journey to the 
East, finds the majority of them settled in Philistia, where they met with more sym- 
pathy from the Muhammadans than in the Christian (Crusading) districts. Wherever 
he met Jews there were dvers among them. The Jews, who in his day were compara- 
tively numerous in Philistia and in the country of the tribe of Dan, disappeared in the 
course of the centuries following until 1880, when they again settled there, and founded 
many flourishing colonies. Very little is known about the dyers of Chanaan. ; The 
Phoenicians, we know, were acquainted with the art of dyeing in purple, and certainly 
possessed their own secret methods. Whether the many colored clothes, curtains, etc., 
were dyed in Palestine we do not know, and even the names of the various colors are 
uncertain. Different interpreters render the names differently — so tekeleth 
is translated "blue" in English, but "yellow silk" 111 the German. Generally speaking, 
the names of colors in Arabic are derived from some object which usually has that 
color, and so it may have been to some extent, at least, in Hebrew. So, for example, 
"white" from eggs in (Arabic) or milk (in Hebrew), "red" from blood (Hebrew), and so 
forth, and different names may sometimes have been used in different districts. The 
scarlet color with which the dver dves the spun wool which is to be woven into grey 
or black carpets is still made from the cochineal insect, called "worm" both in Arabic 
and Hebrew. This insect was formerly bred on the cactuses of Mount Ebal. The 
crimson, often called tola'ath, "a worm," receives the name karmil in 2 Chron. ii. 7 [6], 
perhaps from an insect bred by the Phoenicians on Mount Carmel. 



The Modern" Inhabitants of Palestine 



131 



A dver is well known by his blue hands, for blue, as above remarked, is the color 
mostlv handled. Though blue and green are well-known colors, a grey ass will always 
be called green, by the fellahin and Bedawin. Grey is very little used in clothes, and 
the name of the color is rarely pronounced. White, green, and red are sacred colors 
in Islam, though white, being a natural color, was worn by non-believers also. But as 
it is difficult to keep the clothes clean, some other color had to be taken, and the dark 
blue or almost black shade was allowed the Christians and Jews, whilst green, the color 
of the Prophet, and adapted by the Fatimids, was strictly forbidden (until a few 
years ago) to an}" one who was not a Muslim. 

(p) Workers in Metal. I. — The blacksmith (haddad), or worker in iron (hadid), 
is the Biblical harash barzel, '"artificer in iron" (Isa. xliv. 12, cf. Gen. iv. 22). He 
makes agricultural implements and all kinds of iron work for windows and doors. 

II. — The coppersmith (nahhash). the worker in brass and copper, has always been 
one of the most useful workers, and there is allusion to his art in the pre-Israelitish 
period in the person of Tubal Cain (Gen. iv. 22). Xot only have the richer Arabs their 
copper kitchen utensils, but even the poorer classes have at least a kettle of copper, 
and consequently a whole street in every town is filled with their shops. 

The various kitchen utensils are lined with zinc to prevent verdigris, especially 
where sour foods are prepared. The zinc is called kasdir or ma'dan, which very likely 
answers to the bedil of the prophet Ezekiel (xxvii. 12). The word is translated tin, 
and the metal was imported by the Phoenicians, perhaps from England. 

The usual set of copper vessels to be found in a house comprises: — (1) The dist, 
the largest kettle, generally a little broader at the bottom than at the top, and with 
two iron handles by which to lift it off the fire. In the towns they are more often used 
to boil water for washing purposes, whilst in the country they are generally used for 
cooking large quantities of food, rice, or even a whole sheep, as fellahin rarely cook 
small quantities of meat . This is, perhaps, the dud used by those who offered sacri- 
fices at the religious feasts (1 Sam. ii. 14). It has no cover, and is put on an iron tri- 
pod, whence the proverb, "'The kettle can stand only on three (feet)." (2) The tanjarat 
is the common everyday kettle, much smaller than the above cauldron, and with a 
copper cover, perhaps the Biblical kiyyor (1 Sam. ii. 14). In this all the family meals 
are prepared. (3) The meklat or meklayat is the frying-pan. used for such small 
dishes as are prepared in a few minutes. It is not always of copper, except in the 
case of the richer classes. The smith also makes them of iron, and these are more 
co mm only used by the poorer folk. The}' are called mehmas by the fellahin, and 
probably correspond to the iron pan used by the prophet Ezekiel (iv. 3 mahabath), 
and a similar utensil was also used by the Levites (Lev. vi. 21). (4) The various 
kinds of trays exposed in the confectioner's shop are called tabak or siniyet. Of such 
a kind was the tray with the offering of manna which Aaron placed before the Lord 
(Exod. xvi. 33, sinseneth). (5) Bowls of different sizes for washing the hands and 
feet are also a necessary outfit for town houses, and are sometimes accompanied with 
a copper jug. The sahen. which is made of pottery, is much in use in poorer homes. 

III. — The gold and silver-smiths are usually found all in one street, and the sa'igh 
(as the smith is called) is well known, as ornaments are worn now by all classes, like the 
gold plates, earings, collars, bracelets, and so forth, of the luxurious daughters of Sion 
(Isaiah iii.). 

Ornaments in general are called sighat. The better classes wear a large golden 
conical plate on the top of the head; it is called kurs (properly "'disc"), and is some- 



132 



The Modern Inhabitants of Palestine 



times fixed to the neck by fine chains. The hair of the women falls back in numerous 
plaits, and every plait terminates with a small ornament in gold — a coin, the figure of a 
star, or the moon (crescent), etc.; the whole arrangement is cal'ed saffet. Each plait 
is bound with a cotton or silken thread (sharit). 

The kurs is held by a chain (the zenak), which is often ornamented with small 
coins, and with a larger one at the extremity ; the number of chains is not necessarily 
limited to one. The neck is covered by a golden necklace, consisting of small pieces 
of gold hanging close together. It is called sha'iryet, "barley ornament," on account 
of their resemblance to grains of barley. There is also a second and simpler chain 
called kladet, which, also, is often a string of beads. We may compare the golden 
chain worn by Joseph in Egypt (Gen. xli. 42, rabid), and the strings of jewels on Solo- 
mon's bride (Cant. i. 10). The earrings (halak ed-danain) are also of fine gold work of 
different shapes, either mere rings (cf. the Hebrew 'agil, Ezek. xvi. 1 2 ), or ornamented 
earrings — the nezem of the Israelites. If we may connect nezem with the Arabic nezem, 
may it not have been a necklace with images, and if so, may this not have been the 
reason why Jacob when leaving Padan-Aram buried the nezems of his people along 
with the strange gods (Gen. xxxv. 4)? The nose-ring (Gen. xxiv. 47; Isaiah iii. 21, 
nezem ha-aph) may still be seen among Bedawy and fellah women, and is known as 
khezam. 

Ankle rings (khalakhel) are fast disappearing from the towns. The brace- 
lets, called asawir, are generally made of gold for the richer classes; of silver, or even 
copper, for the poor. Some are simple circles, others have hinges to fit on the wrists 
only. 

The samid of the Israelites (Num. xxxi. 52; Ezek. xvi. 11) may be compared with 
the Arab samada, "to adorn." Rings are often worn on more fingers than one, as they 
are very cheap, and everyone can afford to have a few. 

The tiny tweezers, muntaf , are used to pluck out offending hairs. These may have 
been known to the daughters of Zion, who were so anxious about their looks (Isaiah 
iii. 16). 

These are the principal ornaments made by the goldsmiths, though of late articles 
of European make have made their way into towns, and many an article which has 
stood for perhaps forty centuries will fall out of use before the advance of European 
goods. 

The Hebrew goldsmith, soreph (Isaiah xl. 19), was at the same time the money- 
changer, the modern sarraf — that is, if we may infer from his changing the money into 
an image (Isaiah xlvi. 6), that he also acted as banker. The goldsmith of Mount Eph- 
raim (Judges xvii. 4) made the graven image with 200 shekels of silver. This does 
not mean that the silver or money was molten. There is a clearer case, I believe, in 
the gathering of the money by King Jehoash for the repair of the Temple (2 Kings xii.). 

IV. — The gunsmith, who, in fact, is only a repairer of firearms, is 
often combined with the cutler (sakakiny); Palestine cutlery is not of importance, for 
swords and daggers are mostly of Damascus or Egyptian manufacture. It would 
seem as though the Philistines, Babylonians, Romans, and others had hindered this 
branch of industry, so that it could never develop in the country, and by these means 
revolutions might be avoided. Firearms are mostly imported from the surrounding 
countries. The Bedawy Daher, Governor of Acre, introduced a good many about 150 
years ago, when his compatriots were as yet unacquainted with them, and had only 
bows and arrows (Volney, Voyage en Syrie, II. chap, xxv.), and it is by no means un- 



The Moderx Ixhabitaxts of Palestine 



133 



likelv that some of these very arms may yet be in use, especially when we remember 
how carefullv the arms would be handed down from father to son as a relic. The cutler 
makes swords, daggers, and knives. 

The ordinarv word for sword is saif, that in the Hebrew Old Testament is hereb, 
which name survives in the modern harbet, a short spear generally carried about by 
Dervishes. The swords are curved with the sharp edge inside the curve, and the 
back is verv thick. The weapon is usually in a wooden sheath which it covered with 
skin. 

Spears are of different lengths; the shorter ones are called harbet, and the longer, 
rumh or mezrak. The Bedawin also call their spears shalfe[t]. There are 
also several names for the Israelitish spears: King Saul carried the short hanith 
(Sam. xxvi. 7, 16), as also did Abner (2 Sam. ii. 23), whilst the romah was carried by 
warriors (Judges v. 8; 2 Chron. xi. 12); probably the Israelites had only the shorter 
kind, the longer ones being more adapted for horsemen. 

Daggers are designated by the foreign word khanjar or by sikkin. The latter is a 
straight knife, 20 to 25 centimetres long, used to stab or slay an animal; it is the 
sakkin of Prov. xxiii. 2. The fellahin and Bedawin carry a small curved two-edged 
dagger, called shibriyet, because it is about a span (shibr) long; it is generally stuck 
in the girdle, the sheath being fastened to the strap so that only the knife can be taken 
out. Of such a kind may have been the knife (ma'akeleth) with which Abraham was 
about to slay Isaac (Gen. xxii. 6). Smaller knives, such as almost every fellah carries 
dangling at his girdle, are not of Palestine manufacture. The small folding knife (mus) 
is Egyptian, and as already remarked ( see above ) is also used as a razor. The 
knife used for household purposes, cutting up meat, or preparing the vermicelli, is 
called khussat, and may answer to the mahhalaphim which Ezra brought from 
Babylon to Jerusalem (Ezra i. 9). 

V. — The tinsmith (tanakjy or sankary, both with a Turkish termination) is due to 
the Spanish Jews, who are almost exclusively the tinsmiths of the country. The 
metal, though said to have been an article of Phoenician commerce, does not seem to 
have found favor in Palestine till of late years (perhaps a centmy or so), and was not 
utilised very much until cheap petroleum came into use and small tin lamps and tin 
cases began to spread even into the fellah districts, seriously damaging the trade in 
pottery. 

VI. — The farrier (baytar) is also the veterinary surgeon, and his shop is always 
near the gates, in the neighborhood of the khan and coffee shops where travellers mostly 
put up their animals, and are likely to require his services (cf. above). The horse 
shoes are made to cover the pad of the foot. A small opening is left in the the middle 
to prevent the foot from rotting, but pebbles are often thus wedged in, causing lame- 
ness. The early Israelites had no horses until they were introduced by the kings; 
whether they shod them or not is uncertain, although the remark in Isaiah v. 28, '"their 
horses' hoofs shall be counted like flint," perhaps proves that other nations knew 
how to render the hoofs more resisting than did the Jews: The prophet Micah, too, 
speaks of brass hoofs (iv. 13). 

(q) The carpenter or joiner (najjar) in a country which, like Palestine, has not 
enough wood for big constructions, is called upon to make small articles only — doors, 
windows, cradles, low tables, small chairs, chests for the women, and the like. The 
short Caramanian boards of Katrani wood used to be imported from Asia Minor by 
Mersina. Xow long, broad boards are imported from Trieste. Marseilles, and Sweden; 



134 



The 



Modern 



Inhabitants of Palestine 



they are usually a softer wood than the Caramanian. Wood in general is called khasab; 
'asah "the stick," is the only trace of the Hebrew 'es, which is used for wood 
in general. Wood is small twigs or small branches is called hatab; from the same root 
is derived the "hewers of wood" (hotebe 'esim) of Jeremiah (xlvi. 22). A board is 
called loh, with which we may compare the Hebrew luah — e. g., Cant. viii. 9 ("a board 
of cedar"). 




JEWISH TINSMITH 



To the Arabian joiner the most indispensable tool is the adze, which is called 
kaddum in Palestine, but in Egypt mukshut. This instrument was used before the 
introduction of the European plane, which is called farat. The soft European wood 
cannot be so easily smoothed with the plane as with the adze. The saw is called 
munshar, the Hebrew term being massor (Isaiah x. 15). The awl is a very different 
instrument to the European one ; it is called variously mekdah and barimet in Pales- 
tine, and mithkab or kharbar in Egypt. The handle resembles a whip, the leather 



The Moderx Inhabitants of Palestine 



135 



strap of which is twisted once round the movable wooden handle of the iron borer, and 
the fiddling, so to speak, drives the borer into the wood. The hammer is called sha- 
kush. matrakat, or medkat. The kaddum. however, is mostly used for this purpose. 

The pincers are called kammashat or kalbatain. They are not mentioned in the 
Bible, though some translate ma'asad (Isaiah xliv. 12) hj "tongs"; the 
word, perhaps, means rather a vice. The vice is called mekbas or melzamet. and is 
emploved bv both the joiner and the smith. The file (mebradd) its naturally a very 
necessary instrument. It was doubtless known to the Israelites, but it is very uncertain 
whether it is to be found in 1 Sam. xiii. 21. The whole passage is very obscure and 
difficult. The square is called zawiet. The nails now in use are of two kinds: those of 
home manufacture, masamir balady. and the European nails, masamir 'ibret. 

The joiner makes wooden locks and keys, sukarat (from a root "to shut"), and 
meftah (from a root "to open"). The turner and engraver, called kharraz, is some- 
times a joiner also, as both work in wood. 

(r) The weaver (ha'ik) is well known, not only in towns but also in the villages, 
where especial!}" the mantles (aba, pi. 'uby) are made and sold to the fellahin, yet by 
far the greater number of them are imported, many from Syria; the dark blue ones, 
called shalet, on the other hand, come from Egypt. In the Jewish colony of Jahudiyeh, 
in the plains of Sharon. I saw a Russian-Polish Jew who was a weaver of the "aba. 
Cotton was also woven in times past, and the strong home-made kham was much appre- 
ciated, until at length the English calico superseded them in the market of Palestine. 
The Indian muslin (baft hindy or shash) is generally used for the turbans of the literati 
and Imams. 

The weaver was indispensable to the Israelites, who wove their own clothes, as 
strange clothes were forbidden. The weaver Aholiab. of the tribe of Dan (Ex. xxxv. 
34- 35). wno furnished fine curtains (Ex. xxvi. 1-14) for the tabernacle, must have 
learned his trade in Egypt. There are several references to weaving in the Bible (Ex. 
xxxvi. 8; Job vii. 6, etc.). 

The merchant, in a general sense, is called tajir, but the cloth merchant or draper > 
who sells mantles, all kinds of calico, muslin, cloth, velvet, etc., exclusively, is called 
khawaja— the word co mm only employed before a name, and now equivalent to "Mr."' 
. This has not always been so. the real honorary title being Sayid (Said), in cases where 
there is no other already in existence. Khawaja was applied to any one who was well 
clothed and of independent means, and as the cloth merchant has little to do but to sit 
on his elevated seat and handle stuff, the name passed over to Europeans and to the 
Arab Christians, and is now in use everywhere : Effendi being more commonlv reserved 
for Muslims and government employes. 

(s) The oil and soap manufacturers (sabban and sawabini) always carry on their 
trade in one huge bunding, which is to be found in all Palestinian towns. Inside the 
building are immense cisterns to receive the oil. and stables to hold many animals are 
behind the oil presses. There is but one exit, the great gate, behind which the master 
of the establishment squats before an iron safe, controlling the movements and the going 
in and coming out of his establishment. Oil is brought from the surrounding villages: 
and as the distance may be too far to go home again the same day. the men and animals 
have free lodgings in the establishment. Everyone who has visited or lived in Jeru- 
salem knows the immense ash-hills north of the city, near the tombs of Queen Helena 
("tombs of the Kings"), the refuse of the ancient soap factories. At the present dav 
the industry flourishes more particularly in such olive-grove centres as Gaza. Lvdda. 



136 



The Modern Inhabitants of Palestine 



Ramleh, and especially Nabulus. The owners are very rich, some even are reputed 
millionaires. Second-class oil — that is, oil which has been lying in the olive mills for 
months on the floor in the olives waiting to be pressed, or simply the badly-pressed 
refuse of olives — is used in the manufacture of soap. The owners are not always to 
be recognised, as they often appear in workmen's dress, and sleep at night by the gate 
guarding the safe in which is stored their wealth. All kinds of gold and silver coins are 
hoarded: English, French, Russian, and Turkish pounds, ' each after its kind," as well 
as the Medjidies and other Turkish silver money. 

It is in the olive regions that the wealthiest people are generally to be found; they 
are not so much farmers as manufacturers. They have a bad name for their avarice, 
perhaps wrongly, for it is hard to tell the difference between a miser and one who econo- 
mises earnestly. It is related that a rich Nabulus oil merchant found a dead mouse in his 
oil cistern one day; unfortunately it was seen by others, and the oil accordingly declared 
unclean; as the case was being brought before the judge, the owner quickly swallowed 
the mouse, and proof being forthcoming, he denied having seen a mouse, and thus 
saved hundreds of measures of oil, which according to Muhammadan law, would have 
been unclean. 

Oil and soap are exported into Egypt, where olives do not grow to any extent. 
The oil traffic between Egypt and Tyre has existed since the days of Ezekiel (Ezek. 
xxvii.17). In early Israelitish days water or, in winter, snow — alone was used for 
washing purposes. In later days, however, nitre and borith were employed (Jer. ii. 22 ; 
Mai. hi. 2). What was this borith? "Soap" (so it is translated) was not known. 
Either a plant of grey-white appearance, growing on the banks of the Jordan, used by 
the Bedawin, may be meant, or it is some cleansing mixture. The radical b-r means 
clean or white, and can thus refer to some white plant or any clean thing. 

(t) The mukari, also called bagh glial, is both owner and driver of horses and mules, 
and is a useful personage who in time past was quite indispensable to travellers in the 
East, before the carriage roads were made. The inhabitants of Neby Daud, just out- 
side the Gate of Zion, were formerly the mukaris of Jerusalem, but they have long 
ago ceased to be exclusively muleteers. In a caravan the mukari is responsible for the 
food and lodging of the animals which are under his charge. Jaffa has also a consider- 
able number of mukaris, and Ramleh and Lydd are essentially mukari towns, though 
not for the conveyance of travellers, but of luggage and vegetables, which the Jerusa- 
lem mukaris never carry. Nowadays these mukaris are less frequently employed, 
except for long journeys, beyond Jordan, south of Hebron, or north of Jerusalem. 
The German settlers run their carriages along the sea front from Gaza to Haifa on 
tracks in the sand, whilst inland the roads through the rocky and mountainous country 
are more difficult, and in spite of the great danger of the journey, are becoming more and 
more popular. The roads are very bad and the carriages high, so that the} 7 abound 
with broken carriages and unfortunate travellers, yet no modern traveller now hesi- 
tates to travel by this unsafe way. Fatalism finds its way everywhere. 

The Armenian and North Syrian pilgrims, who formerly came to Jerusalem mount- 
ed on huge mules through the land from north to south, now all embark at the ports 
of Alexandretta and Ladikiyeh (Laodicea), and the picturesque caravans with the sug- 
gestive tinkling of bells have disappeared. The pilgrimage of 15-20 days has now been 
reduced to a mere nothing — a day or two to the nearest harbour, a night or so in the 
steamer to Jaffa, and a few hours by rail to Jerusalem are sufficient to obtain the title 
of Haj, which the Christians of the north, also, receive after a Jerusalem pilgrimage. 



The Modern" Inhabitants of Palestine 



137 



The vegetable mukari barely earns enough for himself and his mule or donkey — 
for he rarelv has more than one. About half a mejidi (forty-five cents) for a load 
from Ramleh to Jerusalem is all he receives, and this entails a journey of 90 miles there 
and back, which he generally accomplishes in 24 hours. He rarely finds a load to take 
back with him. as Jerusalem exports are few and far between, and are generally sent by 
camel direct to Jaffa. 

The mukaris of Ramleh and Lydd merit the palm for ignorance and stubborness of 
all the inhabitants of Palestine — they can hardly calculate beyond their own immedi- 
ate wants and those of their donkey, in whose company they pass almost all their fives. 
Ophthalmia has its seat in those towns, and at least 90 per cent, of the mukaris have 
defective eyesight. They are far removed from the bright picturesque mukaris of 
bvgone davs, who are so fast disappearing now. These wore a short embroidered 
jacket, with long sleeves dangling over the arms, which were slit open on the lower 
side, and only covered the arms when hanging along the body. Their broad breeches 
and sraiters reached to the knees, and were all of the same thick coarse woolen cloth 

o - 

with black embroidery. Red shoes, a small woolen cap of the same pale yellow color 
as the rest of his garb, and a tight turban completed the sum and total of his dress. 
They resembled, but for the bright colors, the "kawasses" of the Consulates in the East. 

(u) The public crier receives different names according to the nature of his busi- 
ness. Thus, he may be simply munadi or munabih. when he advertises any- 
thing or announces the loss of an object or an animal; or dallal or za'id, when 
acting as auctioneer. The munadi is employed by anyone who wishes to make known 
some announcement; but a beshlik or so must be paid to the police before proceeding 
further. A man may have lost his grey donkey and will tell the crier to call it out. 
The announcement is as follows: "0 good people, who pray to Muhammad, who 
has seen a green (grey) donkey?" (Ya nas el-halal. Ya ma tasallu 'alia Muhammad. 
Min shaf ehmar akhdar?) Then follow particulars, cut ears, pack-saddle, etc., ending 
up with: "The reward is a quarter of a mejidi and a piece of soap." (Walhalawan 
rube' mejidi wa falakat sabony). This is repeated in different quarters of the town, 
especially where public gatherings are numerous, until the missing object is found, 
or an address is given where it is to be returned. 

The public crier was known in Israel, when the news had to be made known. The 
kore was called upon to announce it either by the voice alone (Jer. ii. 2; Isaiah 
xJL 6, 9), or with a trumpet to gather the people before making known the tidings (Jer. 
iv. 5). So in the South of France the public crier summons people with the trumpet 
before he reads. 

The dallal (auctioneer) carries the object high in his hands so that everyone may 
see it, and walks up and down the street, calling out the offer anyone may have made. 
This practice ma}- have been introduced by the Spanish Jews, for instead of using the 
Arabic words for the first, second, and third bid, he says ''una. "ala una (one), 'ala due 
(two), and "ala tre (three)." Animals for sale by auction are also led up and down the 
street, and their qualities praised, and so forth. Muhammadans or Christians are 
sometimes employed, though the auctioneer is more often one of the Sephardim Jews. 

(v) The cotton-carder (hallaj) is generally an Algerian Jew. who carries about 
with him his big bow and wooden mallet to card the cotton and to make old covers, in 
which art he is a past master. The covers are very thick, stuffed with cotton between 
two pieces of white calico for the lower part, and print of very bright colors for the 
upper part. This is called lehaf, and is to be kept distinct from the thin and simple 



138 



The Modern Inhabitants of 



Palestine 



grey wool blanket (heram). The thick lehai is perhaps similar to that used by Jael, 
Heber's wife, to cover the fugitive Sisera when he came to her tent (Judges iv. 18, 
semikah). The grey blankets take their name from their being taken to Mecca and 
used in the religious rites (ihram). If the Hebrew marbad (Prov. vii. 16; xxx. 22) 
may be derived from its grey color. It is possible that the Israelite women 
wore such garments in their homes. The carders have also shops where the cotton, 
white as snow, may be seen piled up in huge baskets, ready for sale. The carder also 
goes calling round at the houses, cards the cotton in the courtyard, and makes the fresh 
covers in a very short time. 

(w) The tarbush -ironer (kawi) has a small shop and several irons (kaleb), always 
ready on the fire to iron the red caps of Turkish introduction. The more conservative 
shopkeepers and workmen have not as yet adopted the elegant Turkish cap, but hold 
fast to the old round form which is known as Tunisian, and never needs ironing. The 
Turkish tarbush is worn by all civil and military officials as well as by native Christians. 
With this cap there is a graceful black silk tassel with woven separate threads, which 
it is fashionable to lengthen or shorten, according to the wearer's fancy, so that it may 
either be seen dangling wildly, or hanging quietly down the side of the cap. Most 
turban wearers, however, have kept the old style of North African tarbush with its fleecy 
blue silken tassel, but some have substituted the Turkish cap, and elegantly wind a 
snowy white muslin turban of reduced dimensions round the head. The Armenians, 
who till lately had not the right to wear the red tarbush (on account of its being a 
sacred color) but had a black one without tassel, have now also adopted "every -body's" 
st vie, so a man's nationality is no longer so easily distinguished by his outward appear- 
ance. Strange clothing (cf. Zeph. i. 8) was never in favor, and, with the exception of 
Beirut, Jerusalem and Jaffa are the most progressive towns of Syria. The ironer is 
generallv a seller of tobacco also; though since it has become a monopoly, only tobac- 
conists are now allowed to sell it. Formerly the tobacco, tutun (the Turkish name) 
was hung up in strings, and cut fine or coarse, according to the taste of the buyer, 
on the cutting machine; but now that it is put up in packets these machines are forbid- 
den — at least openly. 

Tobacco is more generally known amongst the people as dukhan; i. e., smoke. 
There are different kinds of native tobacco: the balady, the hassanbaki, introduced by 
Hassan Bek; the Abu Riha, odoriferous , "father of smell" and so forth. Tobacco is 
grown in the Philistine towns and villages, and controlled by special employes. The 
leaves are hung together in long strings and exposed upon the flat house-roofs to dry 
before they are despatched. All Arabs smoke pipes, and in the towns cigarettes A 
considerable trade by smuggling was carried on, therefore, as all Jerusalem gates, except 
the Jaffa Gate, were shut up by night; the whole space from Tancred's heights to the 
Zion's Gate, by the Damascus and St. Stephen's Gates, was virtually deserted by night. 
Fierce contests between Custom House officials and smugglers were carried on in and 
about the north-east corner of the town, and many curious, sometimes tragic, scenes 
happened. A renowned smuggler called on an official known for his zeal, and offered 
to show him a party of smugglers at work, provided he agreed to come alone, and then 
seize them at leisure. The bargain was accepted, a spot on the eastern wall indicated, 
and official and smuggler proceeded thither. The smuggler hailed his comrade in the 
dark night, and invited the official, who had kept silent, to descend by a rope. The 
latter agreed. Accordingly he let him down, but when he was halfway he said, "Now 
you are safe, you can see how we draw up the sacks of tobacco," thus faithfully keeping 



The Modern Ixhabitaxts of Palestine 



139 



his promise to show him how they worked. When the operation was ended, the smug- 
glers quietlv trotted of! with their wares, leaving the unfortunate official to meditate 
on the trustworthiness of smugglers. The official was rescued next day by the soldiers 
of St. Stephen's, who were informed by passers-by of what had happened. Pursuit of 
the smugglers was without avail. "I have neither seen nor heard" was the impudent 
answer to all inquiries. 

Tobacco thieves in the plains have conceived an ingenious plan of stealing the long 
strings of leaves from the house-tops. The hardun, the well-known Palestine stellio- 
lizard, has very long claws and a hard scaly tail, and the thieves accordingly take sev- 
eral harduns and bind a long thread to their tails, and throw this strange fish in g-tackle 
near the tobacco. The frightened lizard clutches wildly at the plants and the thief pulls 
all to him, thus noiselessly possessing h ims elf of the desired weed, and goes off without 
awaking the owner. In this manner does the lizard unconscious!}" become the thief's 
helpmate. 

Snuff (sa ud) is also sold and indulged in by all classes, especially elderly men and 
women, who also smoke the arghileh. The tonbak. or Persian tobacco, for the arghileh 
is sold in large yellow-brown leaves, and is crushed and rubbed in an iron sieve in the 
presence of the buyer. The tonbak is carried about by arghileh smokers, and for 
five or ten paras the pipes in the coffee-houses are filled and loaned. Cigars of 
European make, though also sold by tobacconists, have not found much favor with the 
Arabs, who prefer the small cigarette, sikara. Everyone knows how rich the Arab- 
ic language is in the most polite expressions. A smoker may offer his tobacco pouch 
with the word deffadal: "Do me the favor." After making the cigarette, the re- 
ceiver will say 'amer. "may it flourish" (i. e., have always tobacco to offer), where- 
upon the giver will say min kherak, "from your property, or Hberality. The other 
will again answer, kher allah, ""God's goods," and so forth. Then he will offer him a 
light and say yekhfik sharha, ""may you be concealed from its (the fire's) evil," and the 
other replies wala takassi harha, "neither may you tell (know) about its heat." 

(x) The money-changer is our old acquaintance the sarraf , who with his small 
table and wire-net-covered box full of coins of all sorts can be seen sitting at a comer 
of the street on a low chair in the busy thoroughfares of the bigger towns. Change 
in the Orient is worth more than gold, when you have workers to pay. or must do your 
own marketing, and require small sums. The money-changers often receive from two 
to four per cent, for the simple act of giving you silver for your gold; even the shop- 
keepers retain a few coppers sometimes when changing a pound. There is no consistent 
rate of exchange, not even between the Turkish silver and gold. The only money which 
fits into other systems is the mejidi, with its halves and quarters: but five mejidis, 
though, strictly speaking, equal to ninety-five piastres, are not reckoned to be equal 
to a pound, which is ninety-six piastres; nor are twenty silver francs equal to a 
twenty-franc piece in gold. In the towns money is generally called massarv (from 
Egypt)' or fius. Among the country people darahem, the plural form of dirhem 
(from the Greek drachma?), is used; the dirhem is also the i -400th part of an 
okka (about two pounds, thirteen ounces). Change is called "urnlet or feratet. The 
base of the present monetary standard is the piastre, called ghirsh asadi, 'the Hon 
piastre, made, up of forty paras, barat, kat'at, fad'at, or massriyet. Fad" at means 
silver, and the Hebrews similarly used the synonymous keseph — like the French 
'"argent" — for money in general. 



140 



The Modern Inhabitants of Palestine 



Of the various Turkish coins current in the land — not to speak of the shillings, 
francs, copecs, etc., which are also in use — we may start with the big copper coins, 
namely, the five, ten, twenty, and forty paras, which are not worth half that sum, and 
vary according to the fluctuations of the market, or the caprices of the money-changers. 
These coins are called sahatit. Then there are the thin metal coins, the smallest of 
which are thinner even than tin, called ' ashari; the lowest coin, having been ten paras, 
has now also fallen to half its value. These run in pieces of ten, twenty, forty, sixty 
and eighty paras. Further, the beshlik, originally five piastres, from the Turkish besh, 
five and the altilk, originally six piastres, Turkish alti, six, called also zahrawy or wazeri, 
"Vizier's money." 

The third class comprises the silver coins: the silver piastre, which, being so tiny, 
is also called barghut, a flea, and the one-fourth, one-half, and one- mejidi pieces, struck 
in honor of sultan 'Abdul Mejid. Golden coins comprise the one-fourth, one-half, and 
one pound, lira othmanly (lira osmanhyeh). The foreigner can hardly find his way 
through all this imbroglio, and he therefore usually counts in his own country's stand- 
ard by shillings or francs. The money-changers are generally Spanish Jews, who sit 
patiently beside their tables, and as a kind of advertisement run a dozen mejidis 
through their hands in order to attract the attention of passers-by. Such small tables 
as these must have been in use for hundreds of years. Money-changers are mentioned 
in Isaiah, xlvi. 6: Jesus threw them out of the Temple (Matt. xxi. 12) where they 
assembled on feast days, just as they now do. The confusion caused by the many 
kinds of coin does not stop here, for every town has its own standard currency, known 
as sagh el-bandar as distinguished from sagh el-mery, the latter being the Govern- 
ment currency, whilst that for ordinary use is known as the shurk (shuruk). A Turk- 
ish pound, therefore, may be valued at two-hundred and sixteen piastres in Gaza, 
one hundred and forty-three in Jaffa, one hundred and forty-four in Ramleh, one 
hundred and twenty-one in Jerusalem, and so on, and yet fetch only ninety-six or 
one hundred piastres at the Treasury. Hence, when a sum is stated, the cur- 
rency is always added, sagh, from here, and shurk, from there, and so on. 
Abraham bought the cave of Machpelah "at four hundred shekels of silver, current 
money (keseph 'ober) with the merchant" (Gen. xxiii. 16). 

The Hebrew term 'ober would seem to represent a kind of sagh ; we meet with it 
again in 2 Kings xii. 4, where King Jehoash ordered the money for repairing the Temple 
to be paid in current money." This might also be considered to be some kind of 
"entrance fee" (cf. the R.V. margin). It is interesting to note that the same verb 
is used in Arabic when, if the genuineness of a coin is doubted, you are told bu'bur 
i.e., it "enters, passes, or is current." The coins in current use were sometimes weighed, 
but it is questionable whether this was always done. Weights are called stones in 
Prov. xvi. 11, and gold, even if it was current, was called keseph, analogously to the 
French "argent," silver for money. 

Another word (kesitah) is used for the money paid by Jacob for the field of Shec- 
hem (Gen. xxxiii. 19), and the piece paid to Job after his restoration to wealth (Job 
xlii. 11). The origin and meaning of the term is doubtful, but it may be mentioned 
that the Arabic kasata means to pay (a debt, &c), in instalments. A sum of 500 
piastres was known as a kis, and although this unit no longer exists in currency, still 
the "purse " is employed in some government circles. The kis, or bag, was also known 
to the Israelites, and was used to carry the weights or money, When Naaman the 
Syrian gave Gehazi two kikkars (talents) of silver, he placed them in a receptacle 



The Modern Inhabitants of Palestine 



141 



called harit, which was evidently different from the small bag which contained the 
weights (Deut. xxv. 13; Pro v. xvi. it; Micah vi. 11). 

(y) The potter (fakhuri) is always in some out-of-the-way place, among plants 
and hedges (may we compare 1 Chron. iv. 23?)) — the latter are generally huge cactuses. 
In consequence of the fumes of smoke rising from the pottery he is compelled to keep 
away from the haunts of man. The potter's clay is called huwar or turab el-fakhar, 
but in Hebrew homer, as in Isaiah xxix. 16, &c.; at the present day hamrat is used only 
of the potsherds. At Jerusalem, Ramleh, and Lydda the earthenware (fukhar) is of 
a reddish color; but Gaza makes black articles — often with various red ornamentations, 
chiefly palm-leaves or circles. The jars, water-jugs, and so forth are carried in large 
nets made either of palm-tree fibre or of straw, and are thus conveyed upon camels 
and offered for sale generally in front of the Jaffa gate at Jerusalem. 

The jars are of various sizes, and receive various names, and in some cases we 
may plausibly identify with them the utensils mentioned in the Bible. Thus: — 

1. The largest jar is called zir. It is not employed for carrying liquids, but is 
stowed away in a corner of the house. It has no handles, and in the Lebanon dis- 
trict chopped meat is stored in it for the winter. We may, perhaps, associate with 
the zir the Hebrew Zir, which was used not exclusively for water, but also as a cauld- 
ron to put on the tire (cf. Micah hi. 3). 

2. Somewhat smaller is the jarrat, which is carried by women, or on donkeys. 
In Egypt it is called zal'at. It has two handles, and generally holds water. 

The 'Assliat is smaller and lighter than the above, and is consequently better 
adapted for women carriers; as the name suggests, it is used for storing honey. It 
has two handles. This is perhaps the bakbuk., which Jeroboam, King of Israel, 
sent filled with honey to the prophet Ahiah (1 Kings xiv. 3). 

4. The ka'kur has only one handle, sometimes none at all (like the zir), and its mouth 
is proportionately wider than the second and third jars above mentioned. In Egypt it 
is called dawik. It is mostly employed in Hebron to carry preserved fruit and syrup. 
It is also called kaddus. A second variety of the kaddus has a wider mouth, and is 
used at the water-wheel wells, now so rapidly disappearing from the neighborhood of 
Jaffa. The Hebrew Kad, "pitcher," which Gideon and his men carried (Judges vii. 
16), answers best to the kaddus, since, apart from the similarity of the names, the kad 
must have had a wide mouth, through which a lamp could be easily passed, and it 
must have been of convenient size to carry on an expedition. That interesting verse 
in Ecclesiastes: "Man goeth to his home . . . before the pitcher (kad) be broken 
at the fountain, or the wheel broken at the cistern " (Eccles. xii. 6), finds an appropriate 
parallel in the Arabic proverb: "The turning pitcher (in the water-wheel) must (one 
day) receive a knock." 

5. A still smaller pitcher is the mehlaby, generally used for carrying milk (halib) 
and sour milk (labban) to the market. Oil for home use is also carried in this small 
pot. It has two handles and a wide mouth. We may perhaps compare the Shu- 
namite's pot (asuk) of oil. 

6. The well-known drinking-jugs, brik, and sharbet are the smallest of their kind. 
The former has two handles and a spout, whilst the latter has neither handles nor spout, 
and is Syrian rather than Palestinian. The sharbet keeps the water cooler on account 
of its having a stopper in the neck. The brik is the kind of utensil usually borne by 
the mukaris and others on their journeys. This class of vessel probably corresponds 



142 



The Modern Inhabitants of Palestine 



to the sappahath, the name given to the "cruse " carried by King Saul to the waterless 
region of Judaea in his pursuit of David (i Sam. xxvi. n ; cf. also i Kings xix. 6). 

7 . An earthenware pan with two handles is the kudret, in which some special dishes 
are cooked. On account of its low price it is mostly used by the poorer classes, who 
cannot afford copper pans. Vegetables are generally prepared in this pan. Two 
proverbs are connected with this utensil: "The pan (being too small) holds one egg 
less (than it ought to)" — "The ladle will bring out (only) what is in the pan." Of 
such a kind, perhaps, was the Israelite parur which was used in the desert. 

Beehives in Palestine are also made of earthenware, and are called (kaddus), 
although they differ in shape from that referred to above (No. 4). Some are perfect 
cylinders with a small flying-hole at one end, and are quite open at the other. A 
conical plate is placed upon it when the bees are in, and is made firm with clay and 
manure; others are pear-shaped. Another variety consists of a very small cylinder, 
which is built into the walls surrounding the terraces. 

Deep dishes are also made of clay and called sihun, the same name that is given 
to the copperplates. Small plain lamps without the ornamentation and inscriptions 
which have been found upon Hebrew lamps are called sraj (plural surj). 




gathering the sheaves threshing sledge 



Earthenware articles are called by their generic name fakhur. A general term for 
any vessel is wa'a or ma'un, to which the name of the material may be added, e. g. 
ma'un fukhar, earthenware vessel ; or ma'un nihas, copper vessel. Similarly, among 
the Israelites the general term for any vessel was keli, which could be more precisely 
designated by the addition of the material, e. g., vessel (article) of skin (Lev. xiii. 57), 
of wood (Num. xxxi. 20), of silver (Ezrai. 6), &c. 

Water-skins are manufactured only at Hebron. After being slaughtered, animals 
are blown out by a small incision made in the thigh, and the air introduced between the 
skin and the flesh ; the tissues adhere rather to the body than to the skin, and the hide is 
then preserved with a little salt, and sold to Hebronites, who scour the country in search 
of good skins. The skins, of course, must belong to healthy animals, and without the 
darran — a big worm often found in the skin of the living animal, which makes a hole 
covered over with a slight tissue, thus rendering the skin unfit for use. The larger 
water-skins are generally full of hair, whilst the smaller one are clean. 

There are several sizes of water-skins (generally called bottles in English transla- 
tions), each size having a distinct name: — 

1. The largest of its kind is the tarf.made only from skins of he-goats, and, when full, 
carried by a man called the sakka — an indispensable personage in those towns where 
water is scarce. Butter is also brought to Jerusalem in the tarf from the south and 
east, or from Galilee. 



The Modern Inhabitants of Palestine 



143 



2. The well-known kirbet is borne on donkeys by the villagers of Siloah, Lifta, and 
Maliha to Jerusalem. It is the kind carried by all village women. 

3 The si'in is a smaller pouch easily carried on the shoulder, or hung over the back 
of shepherds. 

4. The 'ekkat is the smallest of the kind. It is commonly used on travels to carry a 
little oil for use in case no guest-houses are met with. The fellahin take it with them 
also when they proceed upon their harvest -journeys. 

5 . The miswal is employed by the Bedu women to carry sour milk to town, and is used 
bv the owners of herds to churn the butter. It has a larger opening than the others, 
and is whiter. It is generally home made, and is in consequence not found in commerce. 
Both the si'in and the 'ekkat are often also made by the fellahin. 

As regards the Biblical terms, the Hebrew 6b, nod, hemeth, pak, may correspond to 
Nos. 1 to 4 respectively. If the words have changed there is no reason that the articles 
in question are very different from those in present use, and the character and nature 
of the articles, and not philology, are our only guide to their identification. 

The saddler, barad'y or saraj, makes the heavy saddles for horses, mules, and don- 
keys. The saddle, called burda'at. has little or no leather at all about it. The lower 
part is a thick felt-cloth (lubad) which serves as a saddle-cloth, and the body of the 
saddle is made of sackcloth stuffed with straw, and forming two lobes to fit the animal's 
back. The top part is covered with cloth, and the edges ornamented with tassels, 
either of cotton, gold or silver work. The girth, hezam or shedady is generally a woven 
girdle with a ring at the end, which is fixed with a strap to another ring; the buckles are 
not very much in use, being of European importation. The tail and breast straps are 
of the same material as the girth; the tail strap passes over the thighs, and is fixed on 
the croup by another band, so that it does not go too low and thus hinder the movements 
of the animal. The stirrups (rekabat) are generally of copper, and do not differ very 
much from European stirrups for this kind of saddle; they are also called mershahat. 
The sarj is a saddle not used for donkeys or mules, but exclusively for horses. It is 
also covered underneath with a thick felt-cloth, but the body of the saddle (saddle-bow, 
karbus) is wood, and covered with a movable hairy felt-cloth covering also the croup 
of the horses; this saddle has only the girth without breast or tail strap. The big iron 
stirrups, on the base of which the entire sole of the foot rests when on horseback, have 
pointed ends, which are used as spurs. Besides the two riding saddles, there is the pack 
saddle (hils), which is made of sacks or carpets stuffed with straw, and, being made very 
roughly, is less comfortable for the animals. 

The bridles are very strong. The lijam is made of iron with a strong advancing 
bit, into which a movable ring is fixed, which passes in the mouth and is put below the 
chin, acting like the curb in the European bridles. The reins (zimam) are either woolen 
cords or leather, and are thrown over the high and protruding pommel of the saddle, 
whilst the animals are mostly led by the halter (rassan). The headstall of both halter 
and bridle are woolen, with plenty of tassels along the cheeks and on the front. When the 
bridle is taken away, the rassan is left. The Hebrew resen is often translated bridle, 
but the two are quite distinct. The Arab does not say, "put on the bridle or halter," 
but "clothe the halter," or, on the contrary, "unclothe ". 

The camel pack-saddle is called rahel. It is made of two bags of sackcloth packed 
with long straw and has an opening in the middle for the hump, upon which is fixed a 
wooden frame, called kattab, with four sitcks protruding horizontally to which the 
load is bound. The camel is always led by a halter (rassan), to which are fixed two 



144 



The Modern Inhabitants of Palestine 



small bits of iron with the sharp ends inside, the karrasat, i.e., pinchers, which cut the 
cheeks of the camel and keep it tractable. 

Tattooing (washm and dak) is generally done by pilgrims from northern Syria 
during the spring, when the people all flock to some centre. Barbers and gipsies are 
also experts in tattooing. Tattooing is neither Jerusalem nor Judean custom. Nor- 
thern Palestinians and Syrians and the inhabitants of the plain indulge in the habit. 




JERUSALEM PORTER 



Here, too, it seems as though a far echo of the Mosaic law forbiding the practice (Lev. 
xix. 28) has entered into the customs of the people. Progress has been very slow, and 
the custom existed among the Chanaanites. The Muslim descendants of Philistines and 
Phoenicians have letters or names and sentences of the Koran, with, perhaps, a sword 
or anchor tatooed. Christian descendants have a bird, a fish, or some monstrous 
fabulous animal or human body tattooed in blue with a little red ornamentation. Gip- 
sies tattoo themselves all over the body, generally big dots in garlands and arabesques; 
the lips and cheeks are usually decorated in blue. In Deir Aban a relic of Christianity 



The Modern Inhabitants of Palestine 



145 



still lingers in the shape of a small cross tattooed on the foreheads of women. But in 
the mountains of Judaea and Jerusalem it is almost unknown, although, as an exception, 
a dot or so on the chin may be seen. A common tattoo is seen on the hand between the 
thumb and forefinger in the form of a crescent or a cross, according as the man is Muslim 
or Christian. The shops where tatooing is done are generally only open in winter and 
spring, and the workers are foreigners — Armenians or Syrians. 





JERUSALEM PORTER 



The porter, the well-known and useful 'atta.1 in Palestine, sheyal in Syria, and 
hamal in Egypt, is certainly the strongest man in the East. He will often carry a load 
of 400 to 600 lbs. — a kantar — on his back, sometimes for a considerable distance, in places 
where donkeys or camels would be impossible. These animals, we must remember, 
are not usually employed in towns; and wheelbarrows and carts are practically unknown, 
and this in a country where they have been known for thousands of years. From the 
pre-Israelitish period, at least, in the plains of Philistia, Sharon, and Jezreel (1 Sam. 
xiii. 5; Judges v. 28), the rekeb of the Philistines were war chariots, but the 'agalah 



146 



The Modern Inhabitants of Palestine 



which the Philistines made for the ark (i Sam. vi. 7), as well as the 'agaloth sent by 
Joseph to bring his father's family and luggage to Egypt, were employed to carry loads. 
Probably the religious disgust as well as the fear which the war chariots inspired among 
the masses of the people has survived among the later inhabitants of Palestine so as to 
wipe away the very name of the vehicles, for the modern name, karusat, is of Crusading 
origin, viz., caroccia. In Egypt, however, the name 'ajalat is still retained. 

No European or North African porter is as strong as the Palestinian. He has 
a thick pack-saddle fixed on his back and a stout cord with copper rings round his waist 
when at rest. When the load is on his back the cord is dexterously placed crosswise 
on the load and round the turban on his forehead. The water-carrier (sakka), already 
alluded to, must also be very strong; some, indeed, are able to carry a second skin. 
Both the porters and water-carriers belong to the lowest class of people, and, as the 
saying goes, they are, "strong as a mule, but as obstinate and brutal." The Gibeonites, 
as we remember, were condemned to the most degrading calling of "hewers of wood 
and water-carriers" (Joshua ix. 21). In enumerating the people in Moab all classes are 
mentioned, and finally as pariahs, "the hewers of wood and drawers of water" (Deut. 
xxix. 11). 

The name of the Fellahin is usually derived from the word f alalia, to plough or 
cultivate, from which was formed fallah, cultivator, and the plural fallahin. Whether 
this is the real origin of the name, or whether it has only been adapted, is not quite 
certain. 

Agriculture is their principal calling, but they have minor industries, which they 
follow at odd moments and intervals, e.g., between sowing and harvest, when agri- 
cultural work is not very pressing. They have also certain industries which are not 
to the taste or convenience of the townsmen or the Bedawy. Thus a Bedawy has 
always female camels and rears camels for sale only, and the fellah keeps only male 
camels for his work: a sinful occupation, since the camel carried the prophet and his 
followers in the Flight and in their wars, and is among the blessed animals. The 
thoughtless, unheeding fellah, however, does not stop at such considerations. A camel 
carries big loads (about 700 lbs. weight) to and from the fields, but being very costly 
to keep, and the barren mountains of Palestine not affording enough food, the owner 
must buy vetches, kersanneh, with which a working camel is fed every evening, and 
vetch-straw called red straw, tibn ahmar. The vetches are broken on a mill (maj- 
rashy) and soaked, and after an hour or two are placed before the camel, who, kneeling 
down, either helps itself or gently receives it from the hand of his owner in small balls. 
The camel very graciously accepts and chews the portion, fondly following with its 
eyes the movements of its master, who talks to it and gives it pet names, as "young 
pigeon," or rebukes it if it tries too eagerly to take more than its portion, if a second 
one may be awaiting its share. Ten to twelve pounds of vetches is considered a good 
supper; they only receive this once in twenty-four hours. When every grain is con- 
sumed straw is brought, and the animal is allowed to eat as much as it pleases. 

The camel, with its movable features and soft intelligent eyes, is probably one 
of the most sensible animals living with man, and here among the natives it forms one 
of the family. Its exceptionally elastic lips moving in every direction indicates its 
character, and in its eye the master guesses its intentions. When well kept the camel 
has a mild character, but being also of a revengeful turn of mind it may wait for an 
opportunity and take its revenge for any past ill-treatment. A strong camel is very 
dangerous in spring, and during the roaring season (hader,), which lasts four or five 



The Moderx Inhabitants of Palestine 



147 



weeks, the owner must treat it with great care and often muzzle it, for in its wrath 
it might kill a person, as during this "mad season " it remembers all offences committed 
in the bygone months. It eats very little and during this time often blows out a skin 
which hangs down as a long tongue from the side of its mouth, foaming and roaring 
and curving its long neck serpent-like backwards. If it is very angry and cannot bite 
it will try to stamp on its enemy. As a rule, they fear and respect their master, but 




FELLAH IX 



sometimes try to attack him unawares, for in this season the camel is a back-biter, 
and tries to avoid its masters face. A fellah who wanted to test his camel's spite- 
fulness filled his 'abayeh with grass to imitate as nearly as possible a sleeping man, 
and went to hide himself in some bushes near by. The camel caught sight of the sup- 
posed sleeping man, and rushed at him and began stamping on the mantle, then taking 
the end began tossing it to and fro. The owner suddenly called to it: "Well! are you 
not ashamed? Is this the way to treat vour master? Shame on vou!" When the 



148 



The Modern 



Inhabitants 



of Palestine 



camel found out its mistake and heard its master's voice, it retreated in shame, and 
refused food for some time to come, but never again tried an attack. 

The heavy pack-saddle is called rahel, and is never taken off the camel when it 
is being worked, unless it be to see if the camel is injured. It is only in spring when the 
camels are sent to pass a month in the green pastures that the saddles are removed. 
The camel is very delicate and could easily catch a chill if the saddle were taken away 
imprudently, and on no account can the camel stay out of doors in bad weather. It 
is then taken into the house, part of which is turned into a stable. As long as a camel 
is not hurt it will quietly receive a burden, and rise calmly when the order is given. 
When hurt it will still mournfully bear it, and become quiet when the load has pressed 
the wound and benumbed the feeling. A good camel-owner washes and tends the back 
and keeps it free from wounds. In spring the camels are shorn, and anointed with oil 
and sulphur, and sent into the lowlands for repose under the supervision of the Bedawin. 

Laban assured Eleazar, when he arrived from Chanaan with camels, that he had 
prepared the house and room for camels, and as a careful herd-owner he ungirded the 
camels without taking away the pack-saddles and gave them teben, straw, and did not 
forget the "piled up" food (Gen. xxiv. 31, 32), no doubt the kersanne. Then only 
did he go and give water for the men to wash their feet . 

The patriarchs living the bedawin life had camels, but in the cultivated mountains 
of Judah and Ephraim these would not be very useful, and here asses or mules would 
be more in evidence. Camels Were often brought by travelers who came from afar 
with heavy baggage (1 Kings, x. 2, and 2 Kings, viii. 9), as the Queen of Sheba and 
Ben Hadad, or the Amalekites in the plains, and David himself is said to have had 
a keeper of the royal camels named Obil (1 Chron. xxvii. 30). 

The rocky and often very dangerous roads are very fatal, for a slip on these costs 
the camel his life; having a heavy body and comparatively thin legs, the camel in its 
fall breaks its legs, and, as it would take several months to heal it, the cure is not worth 
the expense. Consequently the fallen camel is at once slain, and its flesh is sold to 
the fellahin of the district. On these occasions the rotl (6^ lbs.) fetches about 2 pias- 
tres. A fat animal, therefore, which costs £15 or £20, realizes £1 10s. or £2 as meat. 
The camel is therefore led by the halter over rough roads, and at every step the owner 
calls out "God" or the patron saint which might be revered or known in the neigh- 
borhood. 

The camel cannot resist the bridle or halter. This is called karrasat, and con- 
sists of a pair of irons which scratch the cheeks, and under the influence of which the 
camel goes steadily on. Like all beasts, some camels may be stubborn and refuse to 
advance, but they are certainly a good deal more submissive, on the whole, than either 
mules or donkeys, and for big loads in countries where no carriages run are of the 
utmost utility. 

It is very probable that Isaiah refers to the roaring of the camel in chapter xxxvii. 
29 : " Because of thy rage against me, and thy tumult, I will put my hook in thy nose 
and my bridle in thy lips, and I will turn thee back by the way by which thou earnest." 
Only a camel is led thus; mules or horses are generally ridden. 

The camel is in most cases the support of all the family, doing not only the works 
of the field and bringing the harvest, but carrying loads to town and developing those 
industries which, however useful to the towns, cause a great deal of damage to the coun- 
try by destroying the forests. When the driver goes behind his camels as they move 
slowly along the smooth roads, he cheers them up and talks to them — nay, he even 



The Modern Inhabitants of Palestine 



149 



sings to them. This singing is of a wailing character, like all other songs, and has the 
specific name ehdiet. Some camels actually wait for the music, and show their satis- 
faction in the most characteristic manner by bending their long necks and looking round, 
or by hanging the lips or lifting them up, or even by emitting a wailing kind of noise, 
a language which is perfectly understood by the driver. How much a camel is prized 
in a family is seen by the title "camel of the family" given to a departed member, 
or the mournful cry "My camel!" which, it is true, may often be mistaken for jamil 
"handsome." Though so ugly to Western eyes, the camel is in every respect a thing 
of beauty to the dwellers of the East. 

The lime-kilns which are made by the fellahm on the mountains are called atone, 
but known only as latone, the article forming part of the word. As building advances 
in Jerusalem and Jaffa, limekilns are multiplied, forests or bushes disappear. A party 
of fellahm, eight or ten in number, associate, and for a month or so cut down every 
piece of brushwood or thorns for miles around and pile them into bundles. When they 
are sufficiently dry and numerous they are gathered by a long pole, and with a cross- 
piece of wood to keep it from coming too low are swept into the limekiln. The lime- 
kiln is generally built by an expert mason from Bethlehem. For seven or eight days 
the fire is continually fed by relays of two men who work for half-an-hour or so at a 
time until the lime begins to show at the top. After having invited friends and re- 
lations to assist at the final operations, the limekiln is left to cool down for a few days, 
and the contents carried away on camels to the nearest town. The lime (shid) is sold 
by the weight or by the load either in private houses for whitewashing or in buildings. 
In Egypt lime is called jir. 

The same method of making lime was certainly known to the Hebrews. In 
Isaiah xxvii. 9, the prophet compares the purging the house of Jacob to the stones 
taken from the altar to be used as chalkstones (in the limekiln). The word gir which 
is used here corresponds to the modern Egyptian jir. Further, the prophet compares 
the destruction of the people in chapter xxxii. 12, to the cutting of the thorns for the 
limekiln which are to be burned into lime. Here he uses shid the Palestine word for 
lime. 

Another industry, which is slowly exterminating the forests, is charcoal burning 
and the sale of wood, which is mostly done in the mountains of Ephraim and those of 
Hebron, to provide Jerusalem and the other towns with fuel. Wood laws prohibiting 
the incessant destruction of what little is left of the forests have not as yet done very 
much to stop the havoc. The most destructive of all men are those who sell roots 
(karamy) to convents and mills. The smaller wood is turned into coals, and a good 
many more fellahm are employed at the trade. In all these trades the gain is very 
small, for they have to gather or cut the wood one day, load and carry it to the town 
the second day, and must often return on the third day. For all this the pay is a 
mejidi at the most, i.e., about $.88 for three days work. With this he must keep him- 
self and his camel, as he seldom owns more than one. The wood and charcoal fellahm 
do not tend their camels as carefully as the limekiln fellahin, nor do they work as regu- 
larly. They only work when they are badly in need of a mejidi, and being far from 
their homes they are often exposed to many risks, especially from the weather, as a 
camel is in greater danger when the road is slippery than at any other time. 

The charcoal is sold at about $1.00 to Si. 50 a camel load, which may seem more re- 
munerative, but the burning is a lengthy process, and, if it is not done properly, the 
charcoal cannot command the price. The wood is thrown into great pits, and when 



150 



The Modern Inhabitants of Palestine 



it is half burned it is covered with earth, stones, and herbs, and after it has cooled 
down it is sold in large hair sacks. 

The same fellahin collect branches of fir trees, strawberry bushes, and carobs. 
These are for the Jewish Feast of Tabernacles in September, whilst some Christian 
establishments use them at Christmas. 




A WORKER IN MOTHER OF PEARL AT BETHLEHEM 



The camel owners of Bethlehem and Beth Jala have had the almost exclusive 
privilege of carrying loads to Jaffa, as a quantity of work in mother-of-pearl and olive- 
wood is made in Bethlehem, and thence exported. Their most serious competitors 
are the villagers of Sharon, and especially the camel-drivers of Ramleh. Being very 
energetic, they can be relied upon to deliver goods in the shortest time possible. There 
is another class of camel-drivers who also go to Jaffa to trade, but they are apt to linger 
on the road, and are sometimes very crafty, stealing the wares, removing petroleum 



The Modern Inhabitants of Palestine 



151 



from the skins and putting in water. They have even been known to take in a tin- 
smith "on halves" to share in the "profit " and to solder the tin boxes which they have 
robbed. 

Masons and stone-cutters are mostly fehahin from Bethlehem or Beth Jala. The 
Bethlehemites are said to have learned the art from European masters. Whenever 
a good mason or stone-cutter is wanted, application is always made to Bethlehem. 
Hundreds of the men are employed in building at Jerusalem, and remain there all the 
week, to return only on Saturday afternoons in order to spend the Sunday at home, 
as they are all Christians. 

The mason, bana. corresponds to the harash eben of the Hebrews (2 Samuel v. 
11); the stone-cutter is also called hajjar, or kassab, or dakik; the common worker 
is simply fa*el. 

The masters, me'almfn, as they call themselves, generally travel to and fro on 
donkeys, and carry their principal tools in the saddle-bag. These tools include the 
"edet, a small ha mm er, shakush. a square to trim the stone, zaweat, the mastarin, 
or plumb-line: and a leveler called mizan. 

The water-carriers are chiefly villagers of Siloah. Maliha, and Lifta around Jeru- 
salem, who bring in water in two waterskins on their donkeys. In other towns the 
water-carriers bring it from the well to the town and deliver a skin at a time. But 
the men of the above-named villages have two or three donkeys each and run or race 
down to wells or springs, striking, pushing, and beating their donkeys, and up the 
mountains again, always in a hurry, going thus to and fro some 10 or 15 times a day: 
the scarcer the water the better their trade, but when there is plenty of rain they join 
the builders and make themselves busy there. Girls also run after the donkeys when 
their fathers or brothers are busy filling the tanks at En-Rogel awaiting the return. 

The Bethlehemites besides being masons are also workers in mother-of-pearl and 
olive wood, and they have succeeded so well in making their artic'es known that there 
must be few towns which do not possess some of their products. The wealth they have 
thus accumulated is proverbial, and Bethlehem may be called the most wealthy town 
in Palestine, although in their homes the inhabitants strictly retain their fellah char- 
acter. 

At Abu Dis. east of Jerusalem, Bet-dejan, and Yehudiyeh, in the Plain of Sharon, 
mat and basket making is carried on. The villagers of Dis make use of the dis which 
they get from the Jordan valley, and usually command a higher price (about a mejidi) 
than those of Bet-dejan, where the palm is used. These mats, hassiret, are used in 
almost every house, generally underneath the carpet. 

Baskets of different kinds and made of different materials are manufactured in 
the villages, and have each a different name according to their material. The kuffet 
is a small basket made of the rushes which grow in the swamps of the 'Aujeh and the 
Crocodile River, where the inhabitants of the villages of the Futtuh (Bet-dejan and 
the others) gather them. The kuffet is the basket used by builders to carry earth and 
stones upon the shoulder or on the hip. It answers to the Hebrew dud, and is soft, 
with two handles by which it can be carried in one hand when empty or only half filled. 
The sull is a round wickerwork basket made in the north of Jerusalem, with two handles, 
and is used by the women to carry grapes or fruit to the market on their heads. An- 
other kind of round white basket (also called sull) is made of the long white or pale 
stalks ot cereals in the plains. These baskets are made by the women, and are to be 
found in every house. They are used to carry the food to the workers in the field or 



152 



The Modern Inhabitants of Palestine 



to store the bread in the house. They have sometimes colored stalks woven into them. 
With this sull we may compare the Hebrew sal. The chief baker dreamt that he had 
three such baskets on his head filled with the bread (Gen. xl. 1 6-x 8) ; the Israelites 
also used it to carry their food (Exodus xxix. 23; Lev. viii. 31 ; Numb. vi. 15). 

The sabbatet is a deep and narrow wickerwork basket, it is made in the grape 
regions to gather the grapes and load them on camels or donkeys, one on each side of 




SELLERS OF VEGETABLES 



the animal. We are reminded of the salsal of the grape-gatherers of Jeremiah (vi. 9). 
The kartallet is a small hamper made also of wickerwork or sometimes of grain stalks. 
The kadah is smaller and is generally made of stalks. The kafir is a big palm-leaf 
basket, made in Egypt and is used to convey rice to Palestine; it never lasts very long. 
The tabak is properly a round tray or basket-cover, and is made of stalks by the women. 
All these stalk-woven articles last almost a generation. The tabak is used at once as 
a table and a table cloth, and upon it is placed the food, which is set before the family 



The Modern Inhabitants of Palestine 



153 



or guests. It is not unlikely that this flat basket is meant in Deuteronomy xxv. 5 
and 17. In the Gaza district cages are made for the fowls with which these regions 
abound, these are called kafas, and correspond to the kelub of Jeremiah v. 27. Very 
often the people of these districts bring their summer fruits in these same cages to 
Jerusalem, and no doubt this was already customary in ancient times, since Amos saw 
a basket (kelub, cage) of summer fruits (Amos viii. 1). 

The fellahin of Surbahel, a desert -bordering village between Jerusalem and Beth- 
lehem, gather broken pottery, hamra(t), which they bring to Birket es-Sultan, in the 
Valley of Hinnom, and there crush upon a flat rock with heavy stone rollers. The fine 
dust is red, as the name indicates, and is used to plaster the cisterns, which, in a city 
like Jerusalem, where there is no spring water, are so indispensable. The men, women, 
and children of the above-named village are seen roaming about with their leather 
bags, gathering potsherds, (shakaf). 

The flat rock, to which I have referred, being at the upper end of the 
Birket ("pool"), the rain-water which sometimes fills the lower part never 
rises high enough to disturb them in their work. One imagines that in earlier times, 
in the flourishing days of the kings of Judah, when the lower Pool of Gihon held water, 
this same flat rock must have been utilized by, perhaps, the inhabitants of Surbahel 
itself. Jeremiah, we remember, was directed to go out by the gate Harsith to the 
Valley of Hinnom (Jer. xix. 2), and with earthen bottle, and before the elders, he crushed 
the vessel (xix. 10), perhaps on the identical spot. There are no other appropriate 
places throughout the neighborhood, and indeed it is necessary to go far down the valley 
before flat spaces are found upon which to roll the potsherds, and the stone rollers 
are not easily moved from place to place. Thus the principal crushing work is always 
performed in the Birket es-Sultan, and has the advantage of being near the Jaffa 
Gate, the centre of commerce. 

As a rule the house of the Fellah is composed of a single room which is divided 
into different portions; in addition to this there is a court in front of the house, which 
is the real dwelling-place in summer. Larger animals, such as camels, cows, and don- 
keys, find a place in the front part of the room, which, being a step lower than the other 
parts, is called " the bottom of the house" (ka' ed-dar). The camels, kneel next the 
wall with the head towards the family, then in succession come the cows and donkeys, 
sometimes tethered, with a manger before them, called methwed. The last -mentioned 
is not above the level of the ground, and is merely shut round about by a small bank 
of mortar. In the second part of this room is the mestabet, the sitting-room and bed- 
room of the family. It contains the best furniture of the house, and is about half a 
yard higher than the other part already referred to. On this floor is a hearth in one 
corner where the housewife sits and prepares the food. There is no chimney, and the 
smoke after filling the room escapes by the door or by a small hole above the window 
— if there be any. In winter, and this is the only time when they really have a fire 
inside, the smoke is certainly a nuisance , until the fire has burned up and kept a tem- 
perate heat, and is then very agreeable to those almost clothesless people. The bed- 
ding is put away in the daytime in a niche formed in the back wall. This room is 
divided off from the store room, called kate', for straw, wood, &c. Sometimes there 
is another upper floor, called rawiet or siddet, sometimes used by the older .people, 
when two married families occupy the same dwelling-place. Below the rawiet is a 
dark recess known as the "Secret place " (sirr). A small poultry-shed (khum) is built 
in some corner of the lower room The hens are sometimes shut up here at night, 



I. VI 



The Modern Inhabitants of 



Palestine 



though they usually prefer to perch on the khabiet in the store-room. All these divi- 
sions are under the same roof. When there are herds these are in a stable, either a 
big cave with a large court in front or a chamber built on the same principles as the 
house. 

The houses of the Jerusalem district are well built, durable erections of stone 
with vaulted arches, built by masons from Bethlehem. Those in the mountain country 
of Ephraim and Hebron have but two stone arches, equi-distant from the outside 
walls, and the intervening space is covered with trunks of trees cut from the forests. 
These rude beams are called jisr, and required to be renewed from time to time. They 
are referred to in Eccles. x. 18: "By slothfulness, the beams decay, and through idle- 
ness of the hands the house leaketh." These are filled in with small brushwood, upon 
which is placed a layer of earth and stones, and finally a thick layer of clay and straw 
well kneaded together and spread over with the hands. When freshly laid the grains 
which have been in the straw spring up, and the roof looks like a field where the crops 
begin to sprout, but on account of the thinness of the soil it soon withers again. It 
is this grass on the house-top which is referred to by the prophet Isaiah (2 Kings xix. 
26, Isaiah xxxvii. 27) in his description of the passing away of the Assyrian might 
under Sennacherib. When winter approaches the roofs are plastered over again and 
leveled and pressed as much as possible with a stone roller to avoid the disagreeable 
dripping of the water (alluded to in Proverbs xix. 13, and xxvii. 15), which sooner or 
later invariably sets in after heavy rains. A hole leading to the back part of the house 
is called rozanet; through this the tibn (short-cut straw) is taken into the house, since 
the bundles would-be too large to pass through the doors. The houses in the maritime 
plains are still more miserable, and cannot stand any lengthy rain. They are built 
of unhewn stones and mortar, with as little lime as possible. The roofs are all of wood, 
without arches to support them, and as they stretch across from one wall to the other 
they are necessarily smaller. A good deal of brushwood and thorn is used to fill up 
the crevices of the roof before setting the final layer of sand above, and consequently 
they easily catch fire. 

In the mountains, in the case of those who have houses of stone with vaulted roof, 
an upper story is sometimes built. This is called 'oliet, from its being high, and is 
lit by a couple of windows called mejwez, i.e., the pair. Little or no lime is used for 
the Avails, and the roof is made by laying branches across. The smaller houses (seki- 
fet) never have windows. In the plains they are a little wider, and are called ba'iket, 
and as the material with which they are built is much softer, thieves can easily break 
through without noise. 

Many fellahin who live in caves build a wall in front of the mouth; this dwelling 
is called shekif, or cleft. The inhabitants of Siloah have many such dwellings built 
into the rock, both in the village itself and in the environs, and many such rock-dwell- 
ings in the Valley of Hinnom are now only inhabited by goats. In the Valley of 
Khareitun, below the Frank Mountains, the Ta'amry have many rock-houses, now 
principally used as sheep-cotes and barns. When the people of Urtas are in danger 
of being seized by the Government thev retire to these rock-houses, which are inac- 
cessible to cavalry. The prophet Jeremiah, a native of Anathoth, probably knew 
not only the rock inhabitants of Siloah, but also those of the inaccessible Valley of 
Adullam (Jer. xxi. 13). Obadiah, too, pronouncing the judgment of Edom, refers to 
the almost impregnable rock-castle of Kerak (Obad., v. 3). "Thou that dwellest in 
the clefts of the rocks, whose habitation is high " 



The Modern Inhabitants of Palestine 



155 



The floors of most of the houses are not of flagstones, as in the towns, but are 
plastered with the simplest and most accessible material they can find. In the moun- 
tains small stones, earth, and lime, or bits of potsherd, are mixed together, whilst in 
the plains earth alone is used, and nearer the sea gravel and sand is employed. The 
walls of the houses are sometimes plastered and white-washed inside in the better 
class villages as Bethlehem, Beth Jala, and Ramallah, or they are plastered with clay, 
a work which is done by the women. These walls are sometimes covered with rough 
designs, and, although some are supposed to represent animals, yet the lines are almost 
always at right angles, so that even a moon is represented quite square and a horse is 
drawn by means of a number of triangles. 

In the vaulted houses the ceiling is called 'aked, in the others sateh, and the roof 
is designated haft, which means "protected," although, as a matter of fact, it is not 
protected at all on the most dangerous side. 

In the mountainous regions the houses usually are built against the steep sides 
of the mountain, and the roofs are therefore easily climbed without a staircase. A 
wall is often built against the side towards the street, to prevent animals or children 
getting up and walking on the fruit, which is spread there (as being the best protected 
place) to dry. 

The houses have seldom more than one door, and at the most only one window, 
for windows are the privilege of the stone houses, and therefore only found in the moun- 
tains. Sometimes there are two windows, divided only by a narrow lintel before which 
is a moulding, on which the head of the family sits to look out when he has nothing to 
do, or takes his meals when inclined to be alone. There is no lattice, so common in 
towns, and the windows are closed at night-time by solid shutters bolted with wooden 
bolts. The shutters are called bab et-takat, that is, door of the window. When the 
door is shut from the inside big wooden bolts are used. The key (meftah) is of wood, 
and has three wooden teeth to fit into three holes which push up the bolt, and thus allow 
one to open or shut the door. A small hole is left in the bottom of the door, to allow 
the hens to go in and out when the door is shut. 

The furniture of the house has next to be considered. First there is a mat (when 
the houses are near the villages that make them). It takes the place of the carpet, 
which is rolled up and put in the niche with the bedding. The fellahin call the carpet 
hujra(t) : it is made by the women from the hair of the goats and the wool of the sheep. 
As cushions they have the wasade(t), the pillowcase of which is of thick woven wool 
and hair like the hujra(t). The carpet is spread out for guests, and is used as a mat- 
tress at night time by the whole family. A large coverlet called lihaf completes the 
bedding. The bedding, as a whole, is called farash ("spreading"), and when the man 
orders his wife to prepare the sleeping apartment he says simply uffurshi ("spread"). 
The hujra(t) is such an essential part of the household belongings that a family with- 
out one is considered poor. Curtains are called masak (Exodus xxvi. 36) for the doors, 
and kela'im (Exodus xxvii. 9) for the hangings of the tabernacle. At the present day 
the carpets of the fellahin are generally gray (from the undyed mixture of hair and 
wool), with lines of red or blue from the dyed wool woven into it. 

The most necessary implements are those used for culinary purposes, though they 
have no kitchen, but simply a hearth to set upon the floor in the best part of the room. 
Two large stones or two small parallel walls constitute the hearth, where in winter 
time the fire is also kept to warm the room. 



156 



The Modern Inhabitants of Palestine 



The fellahin have fewer copper implements than the madaniyeh. They comprise 
(a) the big caldron (dist), which, though used for washing, is mostly intended for the 
cooking of whole sheep or goats at feasts; (b) the tanjara(t), perhaps the Biblical 
kiyyor; (c) the frying pan (meklayet) made of iron; (d) the kidre(t), the earthenware 
kettle used in every household; it is almost round with an opening smaller than the 
body of the kettle and two enormous handles by which to lift it. This may be the 




water carrier 



farur used by the Israelites to prepare the manna (Numbers xi. 8). A long wooden 
ladle is always used to stir the food or to take it out into the dishes. 

The food is set before the family in wooden plates, which are of various sizes and 
have three different names. The largest is called ba'ie(t), it is also used to wash the 
clothes in. The second is the kadah, which may also be used to soak the food for the 
camel, and the smallest one, often not larger than an ordinary soup plate, is the hanabe, 
which is used for honey or oil, or for any liquid food into which the bread is dipped. 



The Modern Inhabitants of Palestine 



157 



The food in this case is presented on a straw tray (tabak). The rolling pin, merak, 
is called shubak in the towns. Water is stored in a big jar (the zir), which is always 
kept in a corner before the entrance, with a small cup of tin or pottery to drink from. 
Other similar utensils are the jara(t), which is carried on. the head by the women from 
the fountain to the house; the 'aslie(t); the mehlabe(t); the brik, and the sahn, a deep- 
bowl. The various water skins are called zarf, kirby, si'in, and 'ekke(t). The jrab 
is a leather bag with leather straps, generally home-made and very carefully tanned 
from kids' skins, in which are carried provisions when on a journey or for a day's work 
away from home. It is also used for the flour, and is hung against the wall on a nail 
or peg (watad) to keep it from damp or from the depredations of animals. Isaiah 
xxii. 23, shows us that the (Hebrew) yathed was already in use in his days, and simi- 
larly Ezra (ix. 8) appreciates the "nail in the sure place." The men have a small jrab 
better tanned than the above, and sometimes painted red on the outside; it also is 
home-made and is used for tobacco, and is called kistutun. 

The hand-mill is found in every house, and fixed into a kind of clay tray so that 
the flour falls into this and is gathered and put into this jrab. The mill is called tah- 
une(t), but in some districts, towards Egypt, has the name raha, with which we may 
compare the Hebrew (dual) rehayim. Another kind of hand-mill is called mejrashe(t) 
it only breaks the corn, or else is used to prepare the vetches for the camel's food. 
Before the wheat is put into the mill it is sifted through the sieve (ghurbal), which is 
made of the sinews of the sheep. The women sift with great dexterity, rubbing the 
tiny stones (sarar) about the wheat, and cleverly shaking the sieve, catch the stones in 
their laps, thus illustrating the sifting of the House of Israel referred to in Am. ix. 9. 
The flour sieve (munkhul) is of horse-hair, and the straw sieve (kurbal) is only used 
on the threshing floor to sift the straw out of the wheat after the wind has done most 
of the work. 

The cradles are made of wood, and have two semi-circular legs to rock them. 
There is nothing particular to note about the srir, as it is called; it is to be found in 
every house where there are young children. 

Houses which can afford the luxury have the special coffee implements, consist- 
ing of the coffee-pan with iron ladle chained to it (the mehmasse(t) ; it is simply a broad 
iron ladle with a long handle, and is used solely for the roasting of coffee); the bukruj 
or coffee-pot of brass, in which the coffee is boiled; the jurn or hawen, the wooden mor- 
tar for pounding the beans; the medak, a stone or wooden pestle; and, finally, the 
small lamp (sraj) for which is provided a small niche in the wall, or it stands upon a 
wooden pedestal called mesraje(t). 

The lamp is, or rather used to be, the well-known oval earthen oil lamp, but it is 
fast disappearing, and tin lamps for petroleum are now found even in the remotest 
villages. The lamp is tended by the women, who buy the oil out of their own savings, 
and keep the lamp burning all night. A man who found his house without a light 
would curse the darkness and the woman who had not kept the light burning. The 
ner or lamp of the Hebrews was regarded in much the same manner as the sraj of the 
fellahm. Darkness then as now was a calamity, and the lamps were kept burning all 
night (Prov. xiii. 9; xx. 20; Job xviii. 6). Then also the woman tended the light, 
and it is said of the model woman in the last chapter of Proverbs, " Her ner goeth not 
out by night " (xxxi. 18). A lamp-stand was among the objects which the rich woman 
in Shunem put into the upper chamber for the prophet Elisha (2 Kings, iv. 10). It 
is called menorah, and was, no doubt, a wooden stand like the modern mesraje(t). 



158 



The Modern Inhabitants of Palestine 



Every saint's tomb has a light or lamps to light it, and the tradition is that when 
the lamp is not lit the saint lights it himself. 

The "gate" (fatah), or store-room, the dark part of the house, is for the straw, a 
great deal of which is needed for the winter — wheat or barley tibn for donkeys, and 
vetch or lentil tibn for camels and cows. Wood for fuel is also stored there, as also the 
pack saddles and wooden cages to carry loads on the camels (called shakadef), and all 
the agricultural implements. 

The court is always in front of the house, and the walls are covered with thorns 
(siah) as a protection against thieves or other intruders, as jackals or foxes, bent upon 
taking the hens. Of such a wall Tobiah, the Ammonite, spoke in derision: "If a fox 
go up, he shall even break down their stone wall " (Neh. iv. 3). The court is the home 
in summer, and is divided into two parts — a lower part, the real hosh or court, and the 
elevation, called mestabe(t), where the family live. This space is covered with a canopy 
('arishet) made of poles and covered with branches of trees; two sides only are pro- 
tected, against the angle of the house and wall, and the other two are open to the court. 
This is the summer residence alluded to by the prophet Amos (iii. 15), and probably 
also the 'aliyyah, or upper chamber, of 2 Kings, iv. 10. 

When there is a stable for the herds, there is also a large courtyard, called sire(t), 
usually surrounded by a hedge of thorns. The shepherd always sleeps in the court of 
the stable in summer, or on an elevated couch inside the stable in winter. The stables 
are swept every two or three days by the women, and the manure burned as fuel in the 
oven. The oven (tabun) is shared by two or three families, and is in a small hut away 
from the house. It is very small, and scarcely more than one woman at a time can 
move about in the tanure in the centre, and disputes often arise, especially if the women 
who use it do not belong to the same circle of families. Among the curses for disobed- 
ience we read: "Ten women shall bake your bread in one oven" (Lev. xxvi. 26), a 
very disagreeable thing in these narrow ovens, and a real evil. The tanure is like a 
deep, bottomless bowl turned upside down on small stones, on which the dough is laid 
in small round loaves. On the open part is placed a clay cover with a handle, and 
when they want to heat it the cover is put on tightly, and manure is heaped up around 
it and lit. This burns slowly until the space is supposed to be hot enough, and then 
the women remove the hot ashes from the top and take away the cover, and the loaves 
are placed inside on the clean hot stones, and everything is covered again until they 
are cooked. 

The dogs are not stray dogs as in the towns, but belong to every house, and have 
their names and their share of sympathy. A good dog is highly valued, as it keeps 
watch when everybody is asleep. The dogs are generally very courageous, and are of 
the same pariah race as the town dogs. They are not only yellow, but also white, 
black, and even brown in color. Their names are often chosen according to their 
color, or the circumstance in which they were bought, and so forth. A white one may 
be called "Pigeon," a black one "Night," an ugly one "Wolf," a fierce one "Lion," 
or "Summer," "Winter," "Rain," &c. They often follow the herds and keep off wild 
beasts. They are generally the pet of the shepherd, who, being young and not old enough 
to know otherwise, treats them with kindness. Their elders, however, though they 
may prize the dogs, and do not hesitate to demand immense damages if a dog should be 
killed either accidentally or by spite, never allow a dog to enter a room, summer or 
winter. The dog must find some corner or shelter in very bad weather, and is given 
just enough food to keep it alive. Wherever a dog is seen, it is either beaten away 



The Modern" Inhabitants of Palestine 



159 



or at least is reproached by ta' ahs, i.e., ""Fie on thee!"' When young its ears are cut, 
and it is invited to eat them ; this is said to be very efficacious in order to make it 
fierce. Then it is shut up in a small dark place where it can see nobody, and from 
which prison it is extracted once a day to receive a good flogging: this is said to "'bring 
it up," for they believe in "Spare the rod and spoil the dog." 




seller of fowl 



Cats are not rare. They are kept for the rats and mice which abound. Thev 
have rarely an}- names but are called Biss, and although they are respected to a certain 
degree, that is to say they are not kflled, they are driven away by ta' biss. It is a com- 
mon belief that a cat is sacred, and a crime against a cat is never pardoned. 

The hens and pigeons are the only domestic birds kept by the fellahin, and they 
always are the woman's property. She sells the eggs of the hens and the young pigeons 
in the towns, and buys oil with the proceeds. They are very careful in raising the 
chickens in spring. The hen, dejaje(t) or jaje(t), is called kruka by the fellahin 



160 The Modern Inhabitants of Palestine 

women. As soon as she clucks, a dozen eggs or so are taken, and the cluck-hen is 
put into an old basket in the best room or on an elevation, so that the woman can 
always see what passes, and as soon as the chickens (sisan) are hatched the old cluck- 
hen is tied by one leg with a woolen thread until the chickens are ready to run 
about, and up and down the steps. At night they are put into the low chicken-coop, 
whilst in the daytime they pick up a living where they can. They are not fed regu- 
larly, but scrape among the refuse, tares etc. The pigeons have pigeons' holes inside 
the house above the door or windows, and the young ones are generally sold or 
sometimes killed for food. The old birds are called hamam, and the young ones 
zaghalil, lit. pipers. Although we only read in the New Testament of the care with 
which "the hen gathereth her chickens under her wings" (Matt, xxiii. 37), yet it may 
be supposed that the Hebrews of earlier times also knew about chicken rearing. 

Sparrows, called 'asafir (sing, 'asfur), are always to be seen above the houses 
and villages, an inseparable companion of man wherever there are buildings, for he is 
never found among the Bedawin. The Hebrew sippor and deror are not always very 
clearly distinguished, but the former frequently denotes "bird" generally. 

The swallow (snunu) also lingers about the villages, but is not much in evidence, 
and the swift (sis) is found only in solitary places. 

The inseparable inmate of every household is the flea (barghuth). It is men- 
tioned once when David flying before King Saul compares himself to a flea (par'osh, 
1 Sam. xxiv. 14; xxvi. 20). The villages of the plains have more of these pests than 
those of the mountains, this being due no doubt to the milder winter, and many low- 
lying places in the plains of Sharon or round the Lake Tiberias are therefore called 
"the seat of the Sultan of the fleas." 

Finally, we may observe that the expenses of a fellah family, composed of seven 
persons, would be somewhere about the following figures: — 

Piastres. £ s. d. 

1 carpet (hujra) 102-00 = o 16 o 

3 covers (lihaf) 51*10 =0 8 o 

Pans 22-30 =0 3 4 

1 mat (husiaret) 8-oo =014 

2 'Abahs '. 126-00 =100 

Military expenses 126-00 =100 



£3 8 



Yearly Expenses for Clothing. 
Three Males. 

£ s. d. 

6 thibab 8i - oo = o 13 4 

3 girdles 4-20 =0 o 9 

6 pairs of shoes 90-00 = o 14 3 

2 tarbiishes 45' 20 =072 

3 turbans 68' 10 = o 10 10 

3 laftan 68- 10 = o 10 10 



£217 2 



The Modern Inhabitants of Palestine 



161 



Four Females. 







Piastres. 


£ 


s. 


d. 


8 thrab 




I 82'00 


= I 








a fnrrlle.s 




i6'oo 


= 


y 
2 


7 


4 head-rails 


4- T 20 


= 


7 


1 

2 








-Ft 


T 8 

1 


9 




Food. 














JT ldo LI Co. 




S. 


tj . 


50 tabbies of wheat (at 20) 


I OOO'OO 


= 7 


18 


I O 


50 tabbies of dura (at 13) 


55°'°° 


~ 5 


14 


IO 


12 rotls of 


rice (at 7) 




= 


14 


O 


12 


oil (at 12) 




= I 


3 


O 


1 rotl 


butter 


35'°° 


= 


5 


5 


1 5 rotls 


salt (at 2%) 


3 / 20 


— u 


5 


I I 


4 


petroleum (at 6) 


. . . 24"do 


= 


3 


7 


5 


onions 


... 5 OU 


= Q 




1 


36 " 


meat (with feasts) 


AT. 2'00 


■ - 2 


8 


4 


3 . " 


coffee 


90-00 


= 


14 


3 


1 rotl 


soap 


■ • • 15'°° 


= 


2 


6 


Pepper 






= 





8 












Hallawv and other sweets 


I02 - 00 


= 


16 





Miscellaneous 


157-00 


= I 


5 











£22 


3 


2 



This is, of course, meant for a well-to-do family, working hard to allow themselves 
dainties, etc., which others cannot afford. 

A description of the clothes worn at the present day has already been given. 

The first and most indispensable article is a small leather pouch (sofun), fixed to 
the girdle, containing a flint stone (suwa.net), the steel (mahdah), and the tinder 
(sufan). The last -mentioned is made of the peelings and leaves of a compositae grow- 
ing on the rocks, dried and rubbed with a little salt. With these materials a fellah 
can get up fire almost anywhere; matches, we must remember, would never serve in 
rainy weather. The sufan burns very easily, and is principally used for lighting 
the pipe. When a fellah has a headache or rheumatism the sufan is lit and put on the 
aching member to burn away the pain. Other miscellaneous small articles are carried 
in the sofun, e. g., a pair of pincers, thread, and the big packing-needle (mesalle[t]), also 
a small pouch for money, etc. The small knife (muse) is fastened on to a chain (zar- 
ade[t]) which is fixed in the girdle. Here also a strong iron hook (shankal) about 
three inches long is fastened, point upwards, behind the right thigh, on which is 
hung the powder horn (karn or khartabil), made of wood, with a clasp at the lower 
part of the projecting neck to measure the powder when the rifle is loaded. The horn 
holds about one pound of powder. Many wear the horn simply as an ornament, with 
seldom or never any powder in it. They wear a small leather pouch with powder, if no 
powder-horn is worn, together with a small cartridge-like measure (kaile[t]) to mete 
out the powder for a shot, and a leather pouch (dabie[t]) for shot. Some also have 
a broad belt across the shoulders with cartridge holders, called (s'fife[t]), resembling 
the bandoliers of the Boers or Circassians. The pistol carrier (k'rab) completes the 
list of accoutrements. 



162 



The Modern Inhabitants of Palestine 



The ordinary knives are also used as razors, though they have special razors called 
mus mizyan, as before stated. The fellahin, as a rule, cut each other's hair; they 
simply wet the hair and ply very quickly, and, in consequence, they are all expert barb- 
ers. 

The men cultivate the traditional tuft of hair (shushe[t]) in the middle of the 
head when they are young or middle aged, but shave it when they are older. Ezekiel 
in his vision, was lifted up by the shushe(t), or, as it is called in Hebrew, sisith (Ezek. 
viii. 3). Only the hair of the beard and breast is allowed to grow. The hair is called 
sha'r, the tuft worn by boys in the middle of the head is the khusle(t). The same name 
is applied to that of the Dervishes, and the small tuft upon the forehead of boys from 
two to twelve years is tura(t). Women's plaits are styled jadail. The fellah when in 
prison (like Joseph in the Egyptian dungeon) is not permitted to shave regularly, 
and this constitutes another punishment in itself. The beard (lihyeft]) of the fellah 
extends from ear to ear, in the mountains of Judaea; but in the plains of Philistia, 
Sharon, and in the mountains of Ephraim, it is customary to shave it off until a certain 
age is reached. Old men are everywhere expected to have the whole beard intact, and 
must not even trim it. 

The men wear one ring on their right hand, on which is engraved their name; most 
of them are unable to read or write, and the stamp (khittem) on the ring (khatem) is 
employed to seal any act, sale of land, or other contract. The seal and ring are made 
one for the other, and are rarely considered as ornaments, with the men at least, and 
being naturally very necessary in public or business life, they are seldom confided to 
another. The women wear many rings, similar to those worn by the men, but without 
any name on the square stone or glass which is set for that purpose. Sometimes the} 7 
have even a dozen or more which are worn on all fingers, never on the thumb. 

The fellahin women never wear earrings, but in some places they have nose-rings. 
They paint their eyes with kohl on the occasion of marriage processions, and put henna 
on their hands when the bridal party furnishes the henna. Men put kohl on their eyes 
when finishing work at the limekiln, but this not for an ornament, but a sanitary 
measure. 

The men usually smoke the long pipe, and carry their tobacco in a leather pouch 
(dabiet et tutun). When the pipe is started a small pair of pincers (melkat) is fixed 
with a chain to the pipe stem, in order to get a light when necessary from the fire. 

A handkerchief is stuck in the girdle, and is used, not to blow the nose, but to con- 
tain all kinds of delicacies; in one corner there are generally a few grains of coffee, to 
make a cup or two should there be none in the house ; in another corner is a little tom- 
bak, the Persian tobacco for the argileh, which the better-class fellahin smoke. A 
copper seal is also bound at one end. A comb of Indian manufacture is stuck into the 
turban, and is used to comb the head after or during prayers. 

Snuff-boxes ('elbet zuth) are very common, men and women "smell the snuff," 
even as they "drink the tobacco." 

The men and boys will often bind a leather strap or some cord around the wrists 
to strengthen the arms, as they say. The women rarely do the same, only those in 
particular who weave and are obliged to repeat hundreds and hundreds of times the 
same pulling movement at the long strings of the carpet. 

The fire-arms of modern Palestine comprise the familiar antiquated matchlock 
rifle, probably in many cases handed down from father to son since the introduction of 
rifles into the country about a century and a half ago. The barude[t], or rifle, is very 



The Modern - Inhabitants of Palestine 



163 



heavy, axL d the marksman hardly ever shoots at anything without leaning his hand on 
a rock or branch to steady his aim. The people are very fond of game, and when their 
other occupations allow them a day or more out, they hunt either gazelles or hares, 
but more commonlv pigeons and patridges, though they will not disdain turtle-doves, 
crows, ducks in winter, and any bird of passage; starlings and thrushes are about the 
the smallest birds they like to shoot. But the chief delight of the fellahin is to go after 
the partridge, and this they do in three ways: by the hud, the marbat, or the met'ameft]. 

The hud is an enclosure covered with reeds and thorn-bushes, situated at about 
twenty paces from a small isolated spring of water in the mountains. The hunter goes 
there and conceals himself long before daybreak, to await the partridges which come 
to drink only at dawn and then retire to the mountains, where they cannot easily be 
found. Before the rifle was known the hunter provided himself with bow and arrows, 
and consequently the word for "to shoot" is derived from the word for a "bow." 

The marbat reminds us of the numerous references to snares in the Old Testa- 
ment. 

The mefame[t] is also a lurking place like the above, but not near water, and, 
as the name indicates, is really a "feeding-place."' An isolated spot, where partridges 
are known to abound, is looked for, and tibn and a few grains are strewn round about 
for a few days. The hunter then hides one night, after having strewn the grain, in the 
enclosure, and when the birds approach shoots at them. The birak has already been 
illustrated and described by Mr. R. A. S. Macalister in the Quarterly Statement of 
October, 1901, pp. 391—393. It consists of a sheet of cloth, about 4 feet 6 inches hy 
3 feet 9 inches, stretched on two crossed sticks whose ends fit into little pockets 
formed by sewing over the edges at each corner of the cloth. The centre of the 
cloth is ingeniously tied to the intersection of the sticks by gathering it round a 
small pebble and wmding a string round the neck of the pocket enclosing the pebble ; 
the ends of the string are then secured round the sticks. 

The dried skin of a fox's head is then sewn to the top of the cloth, and the sur- 
face of the cloth is ornamented with strokes and concentric circles. The latter are 
printed on in ink by means of a die cut out of soft limestone clunch. The palm leaf 
is conspicuous among the designs; this is a faA'orite luck sign, painted over doors of 
houses and worked in tatoo on women's faces. I cannot, however, discover that the 
other signs, or the fox-head, have any other special meaning; the manufacturer's 
statement, that it is simply to make the object eccentric-looking, is as likely as any 
theoretical explanation to be correct. "When the designs are dry on the cloth it is 
dipped in dirty water in order to stain it and preA'ent it being too conspicuous. 

Finally, special attention must be called to two small holes cut about three- 
quarters of the way up in the cloth. 

The method of employment is as follows: — The sportsman, intent on partridge 
shooting, crouches behind the widespread cloth, which he shakes up and down slightly. 
The partridge is alleged to be a bird so inquisitive that it approaches near to find out 
what this peculiar object is. The sportsman can then watch the birds with his eye 
through one hole, while with his gun through the other he fires at them. 

The name of the implement is Birak esh-Shinanir, that is " standard or flag of 
the partridges." There is a hole just at the intersection of the sticks through which 
the sportsman puts the muzzle of the rifle, and thus resting it on the sticks, holds 
the contrivance upright and shoots the partridges which have gathered around hold- 
ing council as to what this strange animal may be. The shaking of the birak, as I my- 



164 The Modern Inhabitants of Palestine 



self have observed, attracts the attention of the birds, and they gather not only out of 
curiosity but also for mutual protection. Partridges gather together in much the same 
manner when a fox or a jackal passes; the birak, with its fox's head, resembles a fox. 
The same also when a serpent enters the wall of a house , all the sparrows of the 
neighborhood habitually gather around and make a noise, because they often have 
their nests in such holes. 

Nearer the towns these three kinds of sport are not known, but the people make 
use of other artifices. Children use the familiar sieve propped up by a short stick, to 
which is attached a long string reaching to some hiding place ; a few grains are strewn 
below the sieve, and when the small birds are well under the sieve the string is pulled 
and they are trapped. Besides this, bird-lime (dibak) is put on trees or on bushes to 
catch birds. The gluey substance is made in Syria, where it is extracted from the 
Cordia Myxa or Sebesten fruits. The fruit of the Sebesten is about the size of a grape, 
and ripens in August, and is almost yellow; the fruit when gathered is cut open and the 
inside is collected in a big caldron, together with the kernels; it is then well beaten 
till it foams, and a solution of yellow arsenic (tersulphide of arsenic) mixed with water 
is added, and the whole is beaten up till it has a greenish hue. Nets for trapping birds 
(shabake[t], sharak) are spread by townsmen. Nets are frequently mentioned in the 
Old Testament, the common term being resheth (Prov. i. 17; Ps. cxl. 5). Other words 
are to be found in Job xviii. among them the sebakah: compare the modern 
shabkeft]. With the Hebrew pah we have a parallel in the modern fakh, which is a trap 
made of two wooden bows which are bound together at their ends so that they can 
open and shut. They are kept open by means of a piece of wood, upon which is laid 
food to attract birds. When touched the bows shut and the bird is securely caught 
in the net which is on the other side. 

Besides the rifle, the natives also have pistols, and though the newer and lighter 
breech-loaders are becoming very common, they still prefer the old arms, which they 
call fellah arms. These are inlaid and ornamented with designs of various kinds and 
material. Thus the barrel of the rifles has sometimes a silver coating, which is called 
imjuhar, a feeble survival of the priceless arms with which Orientals always liked to 
adorn themselves. The butt end, ka'ab, is much narrower than that of the modern 
rifle, and is usually ornamented with mother-of-pearl. 

Their swords are of two kinds — one with the edge on the concave, the other with 
it on the convex part. The sarem, with the sharp edge in the concave curve, has a 
hilt of wood or horn, with the end projecting on both sides, so as to prevent it slipping 
out of the hand when a good stroke has to be made. The sayf is a common sword with 
the hilt, saylan, protected by one single bow. The sheath, kerab, is of two pieces of 
hard wood, over which a skin is drawn, often with the hair still adhering. 

The sarem is stuck into the girdle with the hilt, nesab, inclined to the right; but 
as it is about two feet long, it is not drawn from the sheath whilst it is in the girdle, but 
the whole is taken out before it is unsheathed. The sayf is hung upon a thick woollen 
and hair band or leather belt, which is thrown over the shoulder, and the sword dangles 
on the right thigh. 

The dagger of the fellahin is invariably the two-edged shibriye[t], curved and vary- 
ing from one to two spans. Shiber means a span, and was, perhaps, originally the 
measure of this dagger. The shibriye[t] in its sheath is fastened to the girdle by the 
right thigh. The sheath is covered with brass bands, as well as the hilt. Of such a 



The Modern Inhabitants of Palestine 



165 



kind, perhaps, was the two-edged sword which Ehud girded on his right thigh to stab 
Eglon (Judges iii. 16). 

The fellah has always some kind of weapon (sTah) about him, and in former times 
he would enter the town arrayed with all his arms. Nowadays they are not allowed 
thus to enter the gates of Jerusalem, but must deposit them outside. The dabbus, 
which is of wood, is not prohibited: on its use see Quarterly Statement, 1905, p. 36. 
When David came to Nob without a weapon, he applied to Abimelech, who gave him 
Goliath's sword (1 Samuel xxi. 8,9), which David accepted thankfully. Weapons were 
always dangerous in the hands of the people, and the Government has been obliged 
at times to gather them in, or to prohibit their use; on other occasions they have been 
distributed among the people. Daher, the Bedawy Pasha of Acca, armed the Bedu 
with fire-arms; Ibrahim Pasha of Egypt gathered in as many as he could in 1834 to 
quell rebellion, and even impounded a certain number yearly, which were afterwards 
bought back at very high prices. The succeeding Government distributed arms after 
the retreat of the Egyptians, but were obliged to collect them again after the events 
of i860. One is reminded of the policy of the Philistines in prohibiting arms in the days 
of Saul (1 Samuel xiii. 19). In the days of King Hezekiah arms were gathered at 
Jerusalem to withstand the Assyrians (2 Chron. xxxii. 5), but again under Nebuchad- 
nezzar all arms were confiscated. It was one of the greatest calamities to be deprived 
of weapons, as the words of Ezekiel show (xxxix. 9). 

When the fellahin were deprived of their weapons, and could not manage to have 
them returned, they alleged that a wild beast called the shibe[t], or leaper, was making 
inroads upon them. The animal was said to have been seen in the Jordan Valley about 
the years 1865-66, and to have come from the north somewhere about the Euphrates, 
and was tearing and devouring flocks and herds, then children, and finally grown-up 
people. Some supposed that a great fire on the Euphrates drove the lions from the 
jungles, others that it was merely a trick of the fellah. It was said to have been of the 
size of a donkey, slender, and yellow in color, but possessing a female figure In con- 
sequence of it the Government, who since the recent civil wars had prohibited the 
sale of arms, now allowed them to be sold again, but still kept in force the prohibition 
against carrying them in the streets of towns. The fellahin now only bear fire-arms 
when they leave the towns to go to the desert districts, but they regularly carry their 
powder-horn hanging at the hook of the girdle. 

Even under the Roman rule swords at least were tolerated, and nobody went out 
without them. There is an illustration of this in the familiar passage, Luke xxii. 
35-38. 

We shall now turn to the family and social life of the fellahin. The fellah woman 
rises at about two o'clock in the morning, and having lit her small lamp sits down to 
grind with her leg bared to stretch it along the fixed mill, and as no man is up at such 
an early hour, she removes her veil. 

As the woman begins turning the mill and putting in the grains she begins "to 
sing" in a rather monotonous wailing tone (Eccl. xii. 4). The fellahin have little variety 
of tone in their voice for joy or for sorrow, and the difference is scarcely perceptible 
save to an accustomed ear. The lively songs, when the women dance around the graves 
seem even more tuneful than the wailing and mournful praises at the marriage cere- 
monies. When there are two women, of course they grind the flour together ; they do 
not disturb the sleepers, who are quite within reach. No singing in the morning is a 
''desolation," as it was in the days of Jeremiah, who treats the silence of the millstones 



166 



The Modern Inhabitants of -Palestine 



and the darkened room as a calamity (e. xxv. 10). About daybreak they leave the 
mill and knead the dough. This is in summer; in winter the dough is already prepared 
overnight to leaven the whole lump. When the dough is ready it is carried to the 
heated oven and baked in from ten to fifteen minutes, and brought home. By this 
time the head of the family has risen from sleep, and has said his morning prayers. He 
gets ready for his work in the field, and the boys have also each some daily task. The 
eldest may help the father ploughing or gardening, the second is the shepherd of the 
flocks, the third drives out the kids, a girl takes the donkey to graze about the village 
grounds. About ten o'clock breakfast, sabuh, is ready, a few loaves of bread and some 
"dipping" ghemas, which may be oil, honey, treacle, milk, vegetables, etc.; in fact, 
any food with the bread is called "dipping," no matter how little it is adapted for the 
purpose. The woman carries it to the field at the appointed ''meal time" (rni'ad es- 
sabuh), and all gather round and eat hastily and then return to work again Boaz 
tells Ruth: "At meal-time come and eat thy bread, and dip thy morsel in homes 
(vinegar)." When the fellah woman comes home she proceeds to fetch water from the 
spring in the kirbe[t], this she carries on her back with the supporting band round her 
forehead. If she has a jar she. puts it on her head, and without steadying it with her 
hands will climb the worst roads, rarely slipping or upsetting the jar. At the water she 
washes her face, arms, and legs, and as she is always barefooted she has no need to dry 
them. The "washing" is also carried to the spring, and after being thrown in the 
water is drawn out one piece after another, and rubbed and beaten on a flat stone with 
a stick (mirhad), and then put to dry on bushes or on rocks with small pebbles to keep 
them in place. It is now high time to prepare the dinner, and as the women have 
neither matches nor tinder they go to their neighbor and bring a burning coal on a pot- 
sherd (see Isaiah xxx. 14) to light the fire, with a little straw and pieces of thorn bush, 
on which the stouter logs are put, as the "crackling of these thorns" (Eccl. vii, 6) do 
not last long enough to prepare the food. 

I will now give a brief notice of some of their queer notions regarding prohibited 
food, and of the food which they eat but which are not eaten by Christians and towns- 
people. Boars and pigs are prohibited by all, but the}' will eat a piece of pork (prefer- 
ably from the wild animal) to stave off fever. Fish are eaten only by the inhabitants 
of the villages near the sea, and by some Bedu. These villagers also eat the dry her- 
ring f'sikh, but the mountain villagers consider them as little better than carcases. 
Reptiles are not eaten as a rule, but the Rasheidy and Ta'amry Arabs eat the tab 
(Uromastix spinipes) found about the Dead Sea regions. Once when Dr. Schmidt and 
Mr. Lange of Haifa heard of a crocodile having been captured in the Zerka River they 
went to secure the animal, but could only recover the tail; the captors had feasted on 
the meat. Serpents are eaten by the Dervishes of the Erfa'i order in accordance with 
the command of their uncle ('Am), the founder of the order, as they declare. They 
cut away about a span at the head and a span at the tail. Camels are eaten by Muslims 
but not by Christians. Hyaenas, porcupines, badgers, and hares are eaten, but the 
hyaenas only by Muslims. Wolves, jackals, and foxes are declared unclean because 
they eat carcases, but as the hyaena also eats carcases they excuse themselves by saying, 
"He chews the cud once a year." As foxes eat fruit, they sometimes eat them also. 
Birds are eaten almost without exception; and though ravens, vultures, and 
eagles are feeders on carrion, and are considered unclean, they will eat them when they 
accidentally happen to kill one. Falcons eat only live birds, and are therefore hallal. 
An exception is the kestrel, s'kire, which eats mice and lizards. 



The Modern' Inhabitants of Palestine 



167 



Certain birds are sacred, and are not to be killed: the swallow, for visiting the 
Ka'aba; the pelican, for having carried water at the building of the Ka'aba; the stork, 
and the laughing turtle nestling on the Haram in Jerusalem; but their meat is edible, 
and if without intention of killing them they get hold of one, they will feed on it. All 
migratorv birds, tiyur il-bahr, are allowed to be eaten. 




MUSLIM SCHOOLMASTER 



"When dinner is over the women make their toilet , with an occasional combing 
of the hair, which, for reasons I need not specify, is extremely necessary. A few 
clothes are made by them, and some spin, but this is more the work of Bedu women. 
The women take an active part in selling the produce of the field and flocks, as they 
are more patient carrying the loads on their heads or in driving the donkeys, and 
awaiting customers in the markets. The women of Bethlehem are well known in 
Jerusalem as sellers of articles in mother-of-pearl, sadaf, which their husbands make 
at home; those of Siloah, Malha, and Lifta are known for their milk, water, and veget- 
ables, etc. 



168 



The 



Modern 



Inhabitants of Palestine 



The children to the age of eight or ten run about the streets and play at "seek and 
find" or "war," or marbles, etc., as already stated in a previous chapter. The village 
schools introduced twelve years ago have not been followed very assiduously ; the teach- 
ers, who are paid very little by the Government, may receive gifts of bread and fruits 
from the boys, but in most places they are almost neglected. 

The women of the different houses meet together, every one with her sewing or 
spinning, late in the afternoon to a kind of "tabun meeting," corresponding to our "tea 
meeting" or "five o'clock tea," and exchange the news of the principal events, and 
the tidings which they have heard in the towns or villages. 

When the men are not at work, e. g., on rainy days, or when the weather is not 
favorable, they gather either in the house or in a public meeting room to talk over the 
news. They smoke their arghileh and prepare coffee. The fellahin (except in Chris- 
tian villages, and even they are very sober) never drink wine or strong drinks, nor any- 
thing save water after their regular meals. The coffee drinking is almost a religious 
act. Only a man can prepare the coffee, and it must be done with the greatest care. 
'The grains are roasted in the coffee pan (mehmasejt]) , and when they are half roasted 
they are pounded in the wooden or stone mortar; then the coffee-pot (bukraj) is put on 
the fire, whilst the rhythmical pounding goes on with the enormous pestle (mehbash), 
often weighing six or seven pounds. When the coffee boils it is taken away, then put 
a second time, and again a third time on the fire. The first cup of coffee is poured into 
the ashes for the Sheikh esh-Shadhilly. Who is this Shadhilly? Or what has he to do 
with the coffee? Was he the one who brought the coffee to Palestine? He would, 
therefore be prior to the Sheikh of Yemen — Shehab-ed-Din Dhabany, who brought 
coffee from Abyssinia in the middle of the fifteenth century — for according to Ibn- 
Batuta, Shadhilly was dead before his days, and he was in Egypt in the beginning of 
the twelfth century (1325 A.D.). 

When the coffee is poured out, a cup is handed to the eldest or more honored 
guest, then a second cup, and then to the other members. Women of a certain age also 
drink coffee, but not the young and the children. A third cup is offered, but is almost 
considered a hostile act. The saying is, "The first [cup] for the guest, the second for 
enjoyment, the third for war." 

Guests are not questioned as to who they are, or where they come from, and what 
their business or errand may be. Fellah etiquette requires no introduction, but in 
course of conversations touching this and that motive they may find out the home, 
and finally the name, of every one. Should this be known, a new kind of greeting 
begins : praises about the kindred ; deeds of valor in the days of civil war under Lahem 
and Abu Ghosh; daring acts against Ibrahim Pasha, the Egyptian invader; and the 
vile present, where every notable fellah of high descent has to submit to the ill-treat- 
ment of some Kurd gendarme (shaderma, a corruption of gendarme). 

The fellah does not willingly give in marriage to or take from the Madani ; the 
greatest insult to a fellah being to have to submit to the pantaloons which a town- 
wife would require him to put on, and such a one is only considered as half a fellah, or, 
at least, as a degraded one. 

Fellahin hospitality is well known, but as already mentioned, is it more generally 
practised in the south of Jerusalem, and some of the more generous fellahin, who glory 
in the title of Jeyyed, ruin themselves by giving suppers to friends or passers-by. There 
is generally a guest's house (madafe[t], also called saha[t]), in the village, and the 
guardian is supposed to know whose turn it is to furnish bread, coffee, tobacco, and the 



The Modern Ixhabitaxts of Palestine 



169 



sacrifice. But either from pride, or from thirst for praise, some are zealous enough, 
as soon as they see strangers approaching the village, to go to meet them, and swear 
bv "divorce"' or "by their arm" that the supper is to be at their expense. The guests 
are installed according to their rank. When all are seated the conversation is carried 
on, not on the subiect of the visit, for it is now even as in Samuel's day, "ye shall eat 
with me to-dav (no drinking of wine in Samuel's house), and to-morrow I will let thee 
go, and will tell thee all that is in thine heart" (I. Sam. ix. lg). The sheep or goat is 
alwavs called a sacrifice, dhabiha. It is "killed" in view of the guests, with the neck 
turned to the kiblah, and the throat is cut "in the name of the merciful and compassion- 
ate God." It is quickly skinned whilst hanging against the wall. The inner parts are 
put awav, and eaten afterwards in the fam il y: the lungs, liver, and heart are never 
put before the guests, and the stomach is carefully emptied, washed at the spring or 
well, and stuffed with rice and small pieces of meat, also only for family use. It is con- 
sidered shameful to present this to any guest. The animal is now cut judiciously into 
such pieces as can be presented and eaten by one guest. The whole of this work is 
done bv an expert cook, who is the organiser of the reception. Three or four hours 
after the arrival of the guests the rice is brought in in wooden bowls and set before 
the guests, with bread. The pieces of meat are now distributed to the guests, and each 
guest, according to his rank, receives a piece equal in size, but considered to be of differ- 
ent degrees of honor and delicacy in flavor. The pieces, in order of merit, are: — 

i . The ihurn (ish shad a) j rj^ggg -j^gg pi eces are alwavs presented to the three 

* 1 he neck (ir-rakabe|t ] V ~ , , % . » . ~ , 

.. , , , . l first, and alternate in value m different places. 

The breast (el-kass) \ F 

The femur (thigh) (miksar el-werk). 

5. The tibia (leg) (il-mi'alak). 

6. The scapula (shoulder) (el-alwah). 
The humerus (arm) (miksar el-yad). The bone must be broken, and a piece 

of meat added to it. 

The unbroken humerus is called d'ra el-bagha. and must not be offered, as it is con- 
sidered humiliating. Another piece, which would be held to give even greater offence, 
is the tartur esh-shandal, the last rib and cartilage. When Saul had been seated, 
Samuel asked the cook to bring forth the honored piece, and gave him the shoulder 
(the Jews do not eat the hinder parts). The guest takes the meat from the piece 
with his fingers, for he must never gnaw, and when satisfied hands it to some hon- 
ored man or member of the house, saying. "Here. owner!" kheth ya mehilly. The 
other guests, in like manner, give each of his unfinished portion to some member. Hav- 
ing f in ished the supper, every man rises from his place, thanking God, and drinking 
water at the end of the supper only. Squatting with both knees downwards, and with 
the legs gathered tailor-fashion, alone is the approved fashion when at table. 

Squatting, called tarbia". because of its for min g a "square," is the sacred posture; 
whilst the takunbuz. with the knees up. is profane, and never tolerated whenever any 
holy transaction is going on — as eating, measuring wheat , reading the Koran, etc. This 
kind of squatting is supposed to be the devil's mischievous position. Hands may, and 
in fact ought to be, washed in this position, after supper. Soap is usually employed, 
and for honored guests, it must be a new piece. Towels are unknown. 

Serious affairs are not spoken about until either after supper, or even next morning, 
and then they part, after having arranged matters, without breakfast. This is quite 
an old custom, for when Abimelech came to Isaac, "he (Isaac) made them a feast, and 



170 



The Modern Inhabitants of Palestine 



they did eat and drink; and they rose up betimes in the morning and sware one to an- 
other: and Isaac sent them away (let them go), and they departed from him in peace" 
(Gen. xx vi. 30, 31). 

Before sitting down at meals the guests all wash their hands, because spoons 
are not much in use, and although wooden ones are to be found in every house, they 
prefer to eat with the hands By way of encouragement the supper-giver says, "Give 
grace to the merciful" which in plain English means, "eat (having said grace)." When 
supper is over, the men have their hands washed. For very aristocratic guests a 
bowl is brought to receive the water, flowing from the hands, for a decent fellah will 
never wash in standing water; water must flow over the hands till they are rubbed 
clean, first by soap and finally by water only. "God reward you, O owner of the house," 
says the guest (khalaf Allah aleyk ya mehilly), and the owner answers, "By your voice" 
(alia hesak). When drinking water, the guest must first say, "Thanks to God" (ll- 
hamdu lillah), to which comes the reply, "May it have satisfied you" (haniyan). And 
again the drinker answers, "May God satisfy you" (Allah yehanik). All these compli- 
ments and formulas are uttered and muttered in half undertones, and do not seem so 
cumbersome in real life as they do in a description, delivered, as they are, with per- 
fect and enviable elegance. 

The chief meal of the day is not necessarily the supper — it depends on circum- 
stances, whether the members of the family be separated by their several employments 
or not. If the men work as day-labourers some miles away from home, then the supper, 
'ashah, is the most regular meal, but if they work round about the village, it is at dinner. 
In the fast of Ramadan the meals, of course are changed. Heavy meals are taken as 
soon as the setting of the sun is announced by the voice of the Khatib — that is, where 
they are so far away from the towns that they cannot hear the cannon-signal. 

The long winter evenings are spent in games or story-telling; but the fellahm are 
most fond of the long adventures of the warrior tribes in their migrations from Arabia, 
attacks from other tribes, love-romances, or semi-Biblical, semi-Muhammadanised 
stories about "Joseph and his brethren," "Job's patience," etc. These are declaimed 
by the bard, sha'er, to the accompaniment of his one-stringed fiddle (rababe[t]). The 
people often pass the whole night listening, when the poem is particularly captivating, 
but, as in old days, it is only such as are free of care who can enjoy them. "He that 
singeth songs to an heavy heart" is probably such a bard (Prov. xxv. 20). When the 
people prepare to go to bed, it is only necessary to take off the girdle, and then lying 
down on the carpet to cover themselves two or three times with the thick carpet. 
Shoes, it is well understood, are never worn in the room; they are always left at the door, 
and therefore are only needed when one leaves the house. 

The village amusements, besides marriages, the taking of vows, or the like, are 
supplemented by occasional itinerant showmen. Instead of the traditional Italian 
organ-grinder of Europe, they have buffoons, called baramkay, who come in little troops 
of three or four. The leader (Abu Khesaywan) beats his little drum with bells, the 
second plays the neyey, and a youth puts on a petticoat and whirls around (probably 
the name baramkay means "whirlers"), to the great amusement of the onlookers. If 
in making his collections — the drum is held out for the usual hat — he does not receive 
encouragement to his satisfaction, he begins to talk about the stinginess of so-and-so 
in such-and-such a place, the meanness of his character, and so forth. If the hint is not 
sufficient, he gets nearer and makes impertinent remarks about the villagers them- 
selves. This is generally successful and to escape worse "blame" ('azara[t]), coins or 



The Modern Inhabitants of Palestine 



171 



comestibles are given, and a volley of praises succeeds. The fellah is very particular 
about his reputation (sit), and will rather overpay the rascal than be called names in 
the next village. Bulgarians, also, sometimes pass with bears; others have perform- 
ing goats or monkeys. The monkey (sa'adan) shows how the old man goes on his staff, 
how the old woman sleeps, how the hunter carries the gun, and so on. 

The young people show great respect to the elders, and listen rather than join in 
the conversation till they themselves are grown up. When anyone of the assembly 
appears in a new mantle or clothing, some one will remark upon the fine workmanship, 
and say, "Blessed be the mantle," (imbarak il 'abah), and the possessor will reply, 
"God bless you; be it at your choice" (Allah jebarek fek 'alia habel idak). Civility 
demands that the man should politely decline the offer by saying "it is worthy of the 
liberal" (A'lah kad il ajamed); or, if he accepts, should say, "I am the accepter," 
(wa'ana kabalha). In this case he immediately has the clothing thrown at him, and 
throws back his old garment, but virtually he owes a greater present. This sort of 
thing gives rise to differences, which sometimes have far-reaching consequences, if the 
recipient is not more liberal, and gives not back double the price. 

Reciprocal liability extends not only to all members of the family, in the stricter 
sense, but also to the whole kindred, when the case is of a serious nature, such as mur- 
der. Accidents also are borne by the kindred altogether, and when, moreover, a new 
house is to be built for a new-married couple, every member of the family is expected, 
either pecuniarly or by work, to help as much as ies in his power. The recognized 
chief of the family can distribute the work by ordering A to bring so much earth, B 
to bring so many stones, and C to furnish a number of loads of lime. The women carry 
water and help by carrying the smaller loads, &c. The Government, of course, knows 
of this solidarity, and when a crime is committed, and the author escapes, the next- 
of-kin, or even any one that can be arrested, is imprisoned until the money is paid, 
which, of course, is done by every one in equal shares. 

Relatives, (karabe[t], are not considered as such on the mother's side, and relations 
by marriage (nasabe(t), are not expected to bear the consequences of feuds, or even to 
aid. The woman is mostly a stranger in her husband's family, but if she be one of 
the man's relatives, she is more considered. Uncles from the father's side and their 
children and descendants are 'emume[t], which may be translated as "complete paren- 
tage." Maternal uncles and their descendents are khawale[t], something like "pro- 
tectors," and are not considered relatives beyond one generation, whilst the paternal 
relatives are always such. 

The man, as husband, is the zuj or juz (i.e., the pair), and the woman, as wife, 
remains woman, though among refined people the feminine zuje[t] is employed. The 
common and general expression is mara[t], woman. 

There is always the tanabe[t], a kind of friendship, in some cases as close as relation- 
ship. This was often practised in time of war, when some one who had fallen into the 
enemy's hands could claim tanaby, and was thus saved. The Christian and Muham- 
madan villagers also had this tanaby between them, and the Muhammadans afforded 
their Christian tanib protection. 

The preliminary consultations are generally held in the assembly, but are conducted 
in an undertone, so that the others cannot hear it; this is a mekhlawiye[t], or secret con- 
sultation, which may be proclaimed aloud as soon as the parties agree. 



172 



The Modern Inhabitants of Palestine 



As a rule, the Fellahin have very loud voices, and, as the deep valleys which sepa- 
rate the mountains carry the sound very well, they call to each other across formidable 
distances, when European ears are unable to detect anything. 

The distance separating the mountains north and south of Urtas (Batn el-Ekra' 
and Abu Zeid) is about a mile in a straight line. Now, a camelier passing up on the 
road singing could easily be heard in the village, but I could not detect conversations 
between passers and villagers, which the Fellahin easily understood. To call attention 
they call out: "Hay ya . . So-and-So, Hay!" and when the person addressed has 
heard, he or she answers, "Hay !" This calling, nada, is loud, but calm and distinct (to 
their ears), and they understand every word. The Hebrews also had very loud voices, 
as we know from several examples, where they called across mountains what they had 
to say, and were heard. Thus, the most remarkable and seemingly unnecessary case, 
when Joshua read the law to the people from Ebal to Gerizim. The case of Jotham, 
calling down to Shechem from the top of Gerizim, is excusable and easy, as he had to 
tell his parable, insulting Abimelech, and then flee southwards before the servants of 
Abimelech could climb the mountain (Judges ix. 7-21). David calling out to Saul 
across the steep valley of Khareitun was the easiest task; the voice carries excellently 
there against the high rocks, and escape is easy (1 Sam. xxvi). 

A call of alarm, Dib es-S6te, for an attack is made by calling out " Jey! ya Nass 
Jey" "Here! O people, Here!" If two men meet by night they never pass very near 
each other, and do not salute, which they always do by day, even when they are strang- 
ers. Should one try to approach, the other would call out "Friend or Foe!" kume 
wulla Saheb. Of course the other will answer, "Saheb" (Friend), and he will 
receive the answer, " Go your way; night knows no friends!" 

Smokers are always ready to help each other, either with matches, cigarette- 
papers, or tobacco; they acknowledge, in fact, that when a smoker is short of tobacco 
he suffers as much as thirsty or hungry persons. But should a person ask for fire by 
night, it is manly to say, "Fire in your belly," which is as much as "Mind your own 
business, and go your way." 

The Turks are the masters of the land, but, like all other nations who have passed 
into Palestine, they speak a foreign language, and only since the last fifty years have 
they begun to recruit soldiers from the Fellahin. The soldiers were always from 
North Africa before this. Conscription was introduced first by the Egyptian, Ibrahim 
Pasha, when many cut off their thumbs of the right hand or blinded one eye to escape 
military service. When the Pasha found there was too many such invalids, he incor- 
porated them into "Thumbless and One-eyed Regiments," and found them to be ex- 
cellent soldiers. After his retreat, conscription was abandoned for sometime, but 
taken up again by the Sultan Abd-ul-Madjid. Lots were to be drawn by white and 
black counters, said to be in the bag in equal numbers. The day of drawing the lots, 
kur'a[t], was always regarded as a day of universal sorrow — howling, screaming, 
weeping women always followed in the rear when the young men were led to the vil- 
lage for conscription, Beth 'Atab being generally chosen as center. The young men or 
boys of 21 years of age were present, and, as nobody could tell their real age, they were 
said to be of age according to the bribes offered to the "Council of Lots." Those who 
could afford it had men of 25 declared 15 years old, and represented as half 
a year older every year; and those who could not afford to pay anything had 
boys of 16 declared 21 years old. When the lot was cast — and generally the 
man was declared to be fit for service — the news was received by new bursts 



The Moderx Inhabitants of Palestine 



173 



of howling, tearing the hair, and blackening the faces among the women. But 
the men may be considered stoics in many respects; they show very little 
of their emotions either for joy or for sorrow; but, although they bow to the nasib. 
Fate, and believe that ""a writing which was written" ktebe[t] wa-inkatbat, 
has been their lot from the beginning : thev try to escape the service in some way 
or other. Presenting themselves to the inspectors, some feign deafness, and never 
answer questions, which is most difficult to keep up till the end: for if he is declared 
to be free, and told so, and should show emotion, he is seized at once. The trick of 
dropping a coin behind is very well known, but perhaps the surest way to entrap them; 
for money and its sound is as mighty a factor in Fellah-dom as it is anywhere else. 
Another method, which is rarely employed, is to have a dozen or more bee-stings on 
the head when going to the drawing of lots, thus appearing before the tribunal with a 
very swollen face and neck. The only son is also free, as well as the eldest of widow's 
sons, but as there was no civil register for births and deaths untl 1SS0. it was almost 
impossible for Turkish-speaking officials to test the truth of statements. 

The Fellahrn among themselves rarely denounce each other, even in the case of 
enmity, for to be a soldier was considered almost as bad as death, and the traitor as 
bad as a murderer. But this state of affairs was soon changed. TVhen they freed from 
military service every married man, hundreds of young men married all at once, and 
were accompanied by their wives to the place where lots were drawn. The lots were 
drawn five consecutive years, and the young men who may have been freed the first 
year and the three following by bribing the commissioner, might finally be taken in 
the fifth. So, when no other way was left; men were enlisted en bloc, and deserted on 
the first favorable occasion. But desertion was not made easy. The soldiers 
were taken to Jaffa and sent to Arabia as prisoners: the five years legal service were dou- 
bled, and often further increased, and once a deserter was in Arabia 12 years. Of 
course, letters were rare and very costly to send, and when they returned from the 
service they knew little or no Turkish beyond the necessary orders in drilling; so no 
sympathy between Arab and Turk could have come about. 

The recruiting method has been wholly changed by the introduction of obligatory 
service for everybody, except the indigenous Christians (Bedu, or those living in tents, 
Bet-Sha'ar, excluded). By this system, introduced soon after the Franco-German 
War. the army was organized into "standing troops" ('askar shihany) for three to 
five years, varying according to necessity and new laws; the reserve troops (radif) 
for the next 10 or 12 years, who were called periodically to Jerusalem, or Xabulus. 
or Jaffa, &c, to be drilled for four weeks; and the territorial troops (muhafet), 
who are called for a service of 10 or 12 days; and finally, the territorial reserve (radif 
el-Imhafet), who were never called upon. The troops of the reserve armies have not 
been called out in past years, probably for economy. The standing troops, who in 
Russo-Turkish campaigns were in Turkey in Europe, have since this period been sent 
to Europe, and have learned Turkish, and bv this means have become more sympa- 
thetic toward the Turks. If they can possiblv manage to remain in Palestine, or at 
least in Syria, they pay whatever they can to bring it about, and deserters (farrar) 
are reduced to almost none, whereas under the old system of sending them exclusively 
to Arabia they were very frequent. They have now learned to know that military 
service does not mean certain death, and that, having behaved well, thev are sent home 
again arter two and a half to three years. Since they have been called to Europe and 
Asia Minor — not only in war. but in peace — they have begun to appreciate countries. 



174 



The Modern Inhabitants of Palestine 



even more beautiful than Palestine, which they did not know of when they were taken 
only to the Yemen and the Haj. In spite of the luxury and wealth seen in some 
countries, they long for their own evil-smelling villages, and for the miserable bridle- 
paths leading to their homes. Home is home also for the Fellah. 

When after having served two or three years, the man comes home in old military 
clothes, a supper is made in his honor; the women go out, like Jepthah's daughter and 
suite, and sing and dance, singing praises of the returned hero. The soldier, squatting 
in the middle of the assembly, tells what he has seen and heard, and mixes in Turk- 
ish words or sentences to show his wisdom; then a near relative in the assembly takes 
off his own turban, or takes a new one in store ready for the purpose, and puts it on the 
man's head; next a thobe is thrown at him, a girdle, and a mantle, till he is transformed 
again into a real Fellah. 

This mode of giving new clothes and adapting the man to the new centre he is 
going to live in was also a Hebrew custom. When David killed the Philistine Goliath 
he was brought before Saul, "And when he had made an end of speaking . 

Saul would let him no more go home And Jonathan stripped himself 

of the robe or mantle that was upon him and gave it to David, and his apparel, even 
to his sword, and to his bow, and to his girdle " (i Sam. xviii. 1-4). 

If the soldier has been to Mecca during his service, he is not entitled to the name 
of Haj, which is only acquired by the person who goes there on purpose to visit the 
Kaaba. If, therefore, some near relatives call them Haj , it is not universally admitted. 
It has often been stated by eminent writers that the Haj wear the green turban as a 
sign of their accomplished pilgrimage, but this rests on a misunderstanding — the Haj 
does not have a visible sign of his pilgrimage. The green turban is allowed only to 
those of prophetical descent. The village of Shiukh, near Hebron, is of such descent; 
so are some Shiukh in Dar-el-Sheikh, and others. The Haj ought never to be called 
by his name only. Ehmad or Hassan become Haj Ehmad and Haj Hassan for ever 
afterwards, irrespective of their social position, whether prince or porter. 

They face danger, illness, or death with a certain calm unknown to the general 
European. The belief in their reception by Muhammad after death in glory is so 
strong that the short anguish of passing from life to death is almost nothing. A man 
dangerously wounded in the quarries near Yazur, seeing there was no hope to be saved, 
coolly said, "Turn me to the kible[t]; this is my belief, I lived thus and die with joy 
to enter in Glory (majd) with my Lord Muhammad, and I hereby witness that there 
is but one God, and Muhammad his prophet " — and thus expired.. The poor and 
miserable in days of health will joke and say, " If fasting is a way to Paradise, Paradise 
must be full of dogs — as they mostly fast " ; or the dreary camel-driver will repeat," Poor 
in this world, poor in the next "; on the death-bed they are all philosophers. 

When a person is ill, the Khatib is asked to write a remedy against the disease, 
and medical men are only called for when there seems to be no hope at all to save the 
sick man's life. A fellah sick-room looks more like a public -house than anything else. 
Nervousness on account of the patient is not in question ; and probably strained nerves 
are unknown. In the firm belief that events must happen according to their eternal 
destination, contagious diseases are no more feared than a broken arm. Charms are 
generally employed against the fever, epilepsy, and insanity. Solomon's seal is a charm 
against every evil, but various other charms are used for diseases. The seal runs thus: 

"In the name of God the restorer of health, in the name of God the recompenser, 
in the name of God the absolver, in the name of God in whose name nothing harms 



The Moderx Ixhabitaxts of Palestine 



175 



neither on earth nor in heaven; He is the Hearer, the Omniscient. God, by the truth 
of the prophets and messengers, heal the bearer of this writing from the fever and from 
everything harming liim. TVith the pan (?) or (alkali?) is change, but the strength is 
only by God the High, the Mighty." 

In another fever case the patient had to stand above a small wood fire, open his 
girdle, and look in his thobe by the collar. An old woman, who was a good hand at 
curing diseases, burned a paper, so that he could inhale the smoke below his thobe. 
The inscription was thus : — 

There is no God but God; it turned and returned. 

There is no God but God; it fired and refired. 

There is no God but God ; around the Throne it turned. 

There is no God but God; with God's knowledge it disappeared. 

Fever is called s'khuneft] or hamame[t]. in general. Intermittent fever is [dore]: 
yellow fever, hammy safra; and the malarial-typhoid fever, tarh (lit. to be thrown 
down) ; the last word is more properly employed of miscarriage. All these fevers are 
treated either with verses from the Koran when they are persistent, or with fire, gener- 
ally with the ramrod put into the fire and placed where the pain seems to abide. In 
spleen the belly below the ribs is stamped with the red-hot iron. In benign and not 
very persistent cases, a decoction of kemaindra[t] (a labiate) is given, having the 
bitter principles of quinine. 

The most dangerous disease, which carries away hundreds of fellahin after the 
harvest, is the malarial-typhoid fever contracted in the plains of Jordan or Philistia. 
probably by the use of bad water. More than fifty per cent, of all those who go from 
the mountains to the plains for harvest are carried away in the fortnight following 
their return home, and those who escape remain feverish for a very long period. 

The fever to which I have referred is particularly dangerous. The inhabitants 
of the low lands, however, are not so susceptible to it as the black colonies in the Ghor, 
and the Egyptians in Philistia too can resist its sweeping attacks. In 1890-91. when 
the railway works had to be carried on across the swampy grounds from Xa'aneh to 
Artuf, in the TYady es-Surar. and especially at the bridge of the Murab'a. the fellahin 
of the region fell victims to the tarh by hundreds, and Egyptians had to be employed. 
Shehme(t), south of 'Akir, is reputed so unhealthy that, as" the fellah saying goes, 
even the birds lose their feathers if they pass through the region. 

Various kinds of fevers and other ailments are mentioned in Deut. xxviii. 21 sq., 
27 sq. : "the Lord shall make the pestilence cleave unto thee, until he have consumed 
thee from off the land, whither thou goest in to possess it. The Lord shall smite thee 
with consumption, and with fever, and with inflammation, and with fiery heat, and 
with the sword (marg. drought), and with blasting, and with mildew; and they shall 
pursue thee until thou perish . . . the Lord shall smite thee with the boil of 
Egypt, and with the emerods (marg. tumors, or plague boils), and with the scurvy, 
and with the itch, whereof thou canst not be healed. The Lord shall smite thee with 
madness, and with blindness, and with astonishment of heart." 

Jaddary. small -pox is treated with the same contempt, but a mother will refuse 
to give matter for inoculation from her child for fear of losing her own. Hasbejt]. 
measles are also very frequent. En-nokta[t]. epilepsy is a disease inflicted by the 
karine(t), which is the double spirit (especially of women), for pouring water over the 
threshold of the door without "naming God." on a Friday, or pouring water to quench 
the fire (See O.S.. 1893. p. 206). The karine[t] appears as an owl, or as a Jewess, some- 



176 



The Modern Inhabitants of Palestine 



times as a camel, or a black man. The Khatib writes the talisman, which must be as 
long as the patient. Often the first talisman is not efficacious and a second one has to 
be written, and even this one may not be efficacious, for the sin is great, since it has 
been committed on a Friday. A woman can even communicate it to her husband ; 
they must cease all intercourse. 

To preserve children against such disease it is well to take the following: — ■ 

(1) The head of a serpent salted and dried, and sewed into the white cap of the 
child; the serpent is heyye[t], and means also the living, and hence the child will live. 

(2) Wheat -grains, threaded on a string, and sewed into the cap. For wheat is 
the 'ashe and means also life; and so God is willing that the child should live. 

For lunatics, mejnun, the well-known cures of el-Khudr, and for those beaten by 
stars (madrub nijmm), the eggs of the Egyptian vulture are employed. Consumption 
(sill) is treated by fiery nails, either applied on the breast or on the back, between the 
fifth and sixth vertebrae. Malaria and typhoid fever (waham), are also similarly treated 
by fire by burning with the iron on the crown of the head or on the secrets parts. In 
order to cure rheumatism (khezam), into 100 or 150 pricks made with a pin one must 
put garlic juice, and for bone-rheumatism, khezam el-'addem, a red-hot pack-needle must 
be pushed into the flesh till it touches the bone. This is often treated by rubbing, i.e., 
by massage, marj or dalk, and they sometimes stamp on the back, the patient lying 
down with face to earth. Nausea (dokha[t]) is cured by roasted coriander, kuzbara[t] 
(mixed with honey) — a tablespoonful daily (forty days long!). Whooping-cough 
shahka[t] is cured by binding the axis-bone of a wolf as tight as possible to the neck 
of the patient, and then with the back of a knife pressing on the neck, whilst saying 
three times, " In the name of God, and in the name of the she-wolf." Cholera was treated 
by an old Bedawy woman, with the aid of the excrement of a dog and a parasitic plant, 
ja'adeh, which grows on bushes; these were boiled together, and the patient was in- 
structed to drink several quarts. Paralysis (falj) is cured by the red-hot iron, the 
universal cure; abscesses (dabar), by applying beet or raddish leaves. 

The Fellahin are good surgeons — jabber, sticks, are bound round the broken limb, 
and plastered over with dough, hair, and eggs. 

Hydrophobia (sa'ar) is supposed to be the spirit of a demon passing through a 
mad dog (kalb mas'ur) to the bitten person; consequently it is treated by the use of 
verses of the Koran, which must be pronounced by a special sheikh who is expert in 
the business. A sheikh in Lydd, who receives such patients, puts them in an isolated 
room and in secret performs sundry exercises unknown to the world. If the patient 
excretes young dogs (demons) about the size of hornets, there is nothing to be done, 
and seven months later the patient dies with all the horrors of hydrophobia, but if 
the demon-phenomenon does not appear, he is saved. The tree-lupine salamone is taken 
in decoction. 

Serpent bites are also treated by reciting verses from the Koran when the first 
remedy does not seem to be efficacious. Quantities of milk are given the patient till 
he vomits it quite yellow. This they say is evidently the poison. As they believe 
all serpents to be poisonous, they are often misled by the result of a cure from the bite 
of a harmless kind. The charmer, if one happens to be present, sucks the wound; 
this is certainly a very good plan, and may prove efficacious. A charmer in Philistia 
once showed me his gums, which were spotted red and white; they appeared as though 
detached from the teeth, so inflamed were they. This, he told me, was the result of 
sucking the poison from wounded persons. The horn of the Cerastes, is in- 



The Modern Inhabitants of Palestine 



177 



valuable. The}- rub it in milk and give it to the patient, and this, in their estimation, 
is very potent. Erysipelas (abu d'ghaim), is cured by borrowing a caldron (it must 
not be bought) which has belonged to a family for several generations; the soot is then 
taken and scattered on the sore cheek. Ophthalmia, and all kinds of affections of the 
eye, have innumerable cures. As a matter of fact it is a terrible local plague, and has 
its headquarters in Lydd. Ramad, ophthalmia, in general is cured by the juice of 
aloes. Tomatoes are also applied, or from the yolk of egg a plaster is made and applied 
to the closed eyes. Kohl may be used to strengthen the eyes toward the end of the 
disease. Several more fanciful ingredients are also resorted to, e.g., the gall of a raven. 
For women and children alum and the white of an egg are sometimes mixed together 
and applied to the eyes on cotton ; for men add clover (karunful). Chronic diseases are 
to be treated with fire; one lights the tinder (sufan) and places it against the tem- 
ple. . Or else one may take two eggs of an owl and prick a needle into each; one needle 
will rust, the other will not, and it is the former which is found to be serviceable for 
ophthalmia. Inflammation of the eye ('ain mabzule[t]) is treated by hanging a red 
glass bead (hajjar dam) above the eye to draw out the inflammation. The bloody 
feathers of young pigeons are sometimes squeezed on eyes which have been hurt by a 
blow. 

As poisons they sometimes use rahj, arsenic, or corrosive-sublimate, slimany, to 
poison a rival. In fact, poisoners are numerous. Some sheikhs are said to have used 
a euphorbia (hilba) against Turkish officials, who suffered grievously for weeks after- 
wards. When an officer went to visit them one day, he said: "Please, none of your 
hilba business, we will arrange matters to the satisfaction of everybody." 

Oil and honey constitute a kind of universal pain-expeller. Oil is used for bruises 
and wounds, and is taken for divers unknown inward diseases. A man once asked 
the prophet Muhammad what was a good thing to take for colic. "Take honey," 
said the prophet, but still the illness persisted; "take honey," insisted the prophet, 
yet there was no relief; and at last, after the seventh question, when seven small warm 
pebbles from the oven were added, the colic at once disappeared. 

Scald-heads are very common among the fellahin, sometimes also among the 
women. The bald-head is called kar'e, but the scald-head has the same name. It 
is believed to be contagious, and they are very careful not to put the cap of a scald- 
head on their heads, though as a rule head-dresses are not easily exchanged, as the fellah 
takes off his turban only to sleep. Shoes, on the other hand, are very frequently 
changed, especially at feasts, when the shoes remain at the entrance. It is rare for a 
fellah to touch his shoes. 

Leprosy, as also scald-head, is often supposed to be caused by the Gecko, abtt 
brais; and leprosy is called harass. Few lepers remain in the villages, but are mostly 
found round the principal towns in the passages mostly frequented by pilgrims; in 
Jerusalem at the Jaffa Gate, in Ramleh on the Jerusalem road, and so forth. They 
are also called "the poor," simply masakin, and the fellahin very readily give them 
alms of the fruits or wares which they may be carrying to town. Every visitor to 
Jerusalem has seen the miserable men and women, stretching their fingerless hands and 
imploring alms in a piteous hissing voice, squatting down with their stick and tin pan 
along the road. They live in separate colonies, but come to town for their living. 
This hideous disease is not so contagious as was supposed, for the lepers' asylums es- 
tablished in Jerusalem by different missions have carried on the work for more than 
thirty years now, and none of the Sisters or hospital aids have ever become lepers, 



178 



The Modern Inhabitants of 



Palestine 



though almost in daily contact, and living under one roof. Complete cures, on the other 
hand, are, so far as I am aware, unknown. 

The language on a whole is pure Arabic, and though some letters are differently 
pronounced in different regions, the fellahin may be called the most learned illiterate 
people among all the Arabic -speaking people I have met or tested in their own country, 
extending from Syria through Palestine and along the coast of North Africa. The Arabic 
of Mesopotamia is more classical than the Syrian. It is supposed to be the more elegant, 
but it is in fact as incorrect and ugly to Arabs as Parisian is to French. Amongst 
Palestinian fellahin the Beni-Hassan pronounce the language best. All, it is true, 
have some vernacular, scarcely a patois, but all can talk a correct Arabic, and recite 
poems of considerable length, which no other peasants perhaps in the whole world can 
do. 

The different villagers have each their peculiar ways of speaking, either in. brief 
and energetic sentences or in slow trailing words, whereby it is known at once to which 
village they belong. Those of Beth 'Atab have a very energetic language, those of 
Siloah a lazy one. In Bethlehem they address anybody by "my small brother!" ya 
kheiyi; in Beth Jala the salutation runs, ya tanebi "my protector!" in a very singing 
voice; in Jebel Khalil it is ya khal "O, maternal uncle!" in Kariet Abu Ghosh, "O . . 
. . . . !" as if looking for some title but never finding any ; in the Fluh, "0 father of 
. . . !" without further title. 

In the mountains the people generally own the lands as far as the village lands 
reach; there are no lands belonging to the community as a rule. On the other hand, 
in the plains the lands belong to the inhabitants, and every one possessing oxen with 
which to plough may claim his share, when it is time to prepare them for sowing. Pre- 
vious to 1872 there were no deeds proving them to be owners, but tradition was suf- 
ficient and respected by everybody. The right of might certainly had also a good 
deal to do in times past; strong villages simply occupied the lands of the weaker ones, 
and exterminated the inhabitants in their numerous bloody feuds — now partly dis- 
appearing. The fiercest contests that I remember are those of the lordly inhabitants 
of Kariet -el-' Enab, better known as Abu-Ghosh — against the vile inhabitants of Beth- 
mahsir whom they considered little better than slaves, and whom they attacked when- 
ever they tried to maintain their rights in the occupation of the arable lands in the 
region of Der-Imhessen and thereabouts. It may be added that planted vineyards 
and olive trees are very seldom contested, and the owners have their deeds from Con- 
stantinople. 

The villagers of the plains of Sharon and Philistia are usually co-proprietors of all 
the lands, but when the new law to establish deeds was promulgated, the poorer denied 
owning any land in order to avoid paying the cost of the deed, and thus became de- 
prived of their lands; sometimes they sold their right for a trifle. Beth-dejan sold one- 
third of its lands to Jaffa Effendis, one-third* still belongs to the whole village, and the 
rest is private property. In Emmaus it belongs to the whole village. 

In consequence of these different situations, in those places where the lands belong 
to everybody, lots are cast as to which family is to occupy which part, thus changing 
position every year. The kindred divide the lot either by paces or by goad-lengths 
(massass). 

A man was murdered on the lands belonging to the village of Katra, on the right 
bank of the Wady, now the boundary line between that village and Mughar; the gov- 
ernment seized the elders of the village to find out the murderer, as the law suspects 



The Modern Inhabitants of Palestine 



179 



the owner of the ground where the murder was committed; but to escape punishment 
the\" denied that they were the owners of the land, and as Mughar is the next village, 
the government forced the men of Mughar to be owners, and gave them deeds. The 
inhabitants of Katra tried to take their lands again when the murder-affair was 
settled, but to no avail. 

When the Bedawy incursions were more dangerous than they are now — some 
fifty years back — the She ikh s of the plains sought to gather as many men around them 
as they possibly could, and gave to each family of settlers houses and lands, and even, 
in some cases, oxen, provided they agreed to be ready: (i) In time of danger to aid in 
repulsing the invaders; and (2) to work the lands entrusted to them. Generally those 
settlers had oxen, which fact alone entitles them to as much land as their animals could 
plough in one season. To illustrate the utility of a pair of oxen, of their value in the eyes 
of the Sheikh, it is related that a man and his family came to Khebe with a yoke of 
oxen (faddan) and asked for a house and land, and he agreed to plough and sow, and 
share all general expenses with the villagers. Forthwith a villager, who owned only 
a house but no oxen, was turned out of his house and the stranger installed in his place. 
Naturally the tumed-out villager protested, as he had built the house with his own 
hands, but the council of elders would not listen, and only gave way when he promised 
to become a regular agriculturist. Having been allowed a few days in which to make 
his arrangements, the stranger received a new lot and had to build a house, which was 
done by the help of the whole village. The other man meanwhile set out to Ramleh 
on a market-day. and having purchased a yoke of oxen, drove them home. But before 
entering the village, he took off his turban and wrapped it well around the horns of 
the oxen. Being asked what this meant, he replied, that the ox was evidently the most 
respected person here, without the ox no home: and because of the ox he was permitted 
to live in his own house, therefore honor to whom honor is due, and the turban to the 
head of the family ! 

A transgressor against the laws of the feUahin may flee from the village and remain 
absent for years, till his transgression be either arranged or forgotten, and during his 
absence his land passes to the neighbors, but he receives it again after his return, 
though certainly not without trouble. 

The Hebrews also possessed arable lands in common, and lost their right bv ab- 
sence, but on their return received them back. So the widow of Shunem returned 
after an absence of seven years, and found her house and lands occupied, and nobody 
would restore it to her until after the intervention of the king, who was interested in 
her experiences, and asked her to tell him all about the prophet's miracle. On hearing 
her story he ordered that both her lands and income should be given back to her (II. 
Kings, viii. 6). 

In small plains, as the plain of Rephaim (bakat) and the plain of Khadder, the 
lands always belong to the same owners, and are only separated by landmarks, (rassem 
or hejar et-takhm) . In the plains the landmarks are only necessary for the crops, not 
tor the lands, which change masters every year. The gebul of Deut. xix. 14, was a fixed 
land-mark, never to be moved, and a curse was on him that removed it (Deut. xxvii. 17). 

A yoke of oxen is called faddan. but the land also is divided into faddan, which 
means land that can be ploughed by a yoke of oxen in twenty-eight days. The land 
about Emmaus is very heavy, and a faddan is four oxen, which plough alternatively in 
pairs every hour. In most other places the faddan means two oxen, and the land they 
can plough in a season. The sahm is the part (lit. share) of a man in a village. This 



180 The Modern* Inhabitants of Palestine 

is necessarily different according to the wealth of the village, i. e., the extent of land 
and the number of inhabitants. A me'nah is a portion of land measuring forty paces 
square. 

The divisions of land were, no doubt, the same among the Hebrews. The fad- 
dan of oxen is called tsemed habbar (i Sam. xi. 7, 1 Kings xix. 21), and a faddan 
of land is called tsemed sadeh (1 Sam. xiv. 14). 

The ploughing land in general is known as watah but it is only in the plains that 
divisions are made — by lots, or by measures. The prophet Amos, himself a native of 




PLOUGHING THE FIELDS 

Tekoa, probably had the plain of Tekoa in mind when he said: "Thy land shall be 
divided by line" (Amos vii. 17). 

The farms of the lands, whether they are terraces, or broad divisions in the val- 
leys, or on mountain tops, or so forth, have other names in addition to the more general 
terms. Thus a complete extent of land, which a man could cultivate with his animals 
and the help of his family, is a falhat. The shkarat is a small plot of ground given to a 
widow or such as cannot afford the expenses of animals, and the ploughing and sowing 
is done with the help of loaned animals, or begged ones, as they call it. 

Lands belonging to Mosques, Churches or Welys are called wakf, and have either 
been dedicated to the Saint from time immemorial or are even now given to them by 
the fellahin. The Haram of Hebron is considered to be the richest land-owner. The 



The Modern Inhabitants of Palestine 



181 



administrator of these lands is expected to give one-fifth of the total revenue to the 
service of the Haram. The government has now taken almost all the wakf lands into 
its hands, and has an Inspector of the wakf in Jerusalem. Nevertheless many less 
notable saints have their private ad mi nistrators. The lands of Rubine are given by 
'Abd-el-majid Effendi from Ramleh to the fellahin and Bedu of the district. The in- 
come goes towards the expenses of the mosque, and during the month of pilgrimage 
(generally in September) an evening meal, consisting of meat, rice and bread, is offered 
daily to the poor before the administrator's tent. Here one sees hundreds of beggars in 
tattered and torn clothes fall on the big dishes, and snatch the food from each other. 
The tent with the White Standard of Rubine — white, with the red crescent and star, — 
is open to every visitor, and he is readily invited if he cares to^accept. At the death 
of the present manager, the rights will pass to his eldest cousin, and so forth, never 
remaining in one fa mil y — from father to son. The managers (wakil) of all minor 
mosques have the same rights. 

It is very difficult to say whether, considering the many revolutions which Pales- 
tine has suffered, the people continue to own the same lands for many generations. 
Some villages near Jerusalem may perhaps have retained possession for centuries. But 
if we take as an example Urtas, which was a mighty village, and used its right of might 
till the men were slaughtered by the inhabitants of a village in the kase, the few remain- 
ing inhabitants could not defend more than the lands immediately around the village, 
and the more powerful neighbors, as the Fawaghry of Bethlehem, took all they could, 
thus owning the lands in the next vicinity. In Philistia the smaller villagers have 
hardly been in peaceful possession for more than thirty years, and blood}' contests 
have occurred yearly, even since the establishment of the legal deeds, merely on account 
of the illegal action, real or presumed, of the new possessors. There is continual feud 
between the villages of Khulda and Beth-Mahsir for the lands around the ruins of 
Der-Imhesen, El-Masiyeh, Khirbet ed-Jemal, Im Sarrisse(t), Es-Saffare, etc. As late 
as 1885. when the inhabitants of Beth-Mahsir were reaping on the lands of Der-Imhesen 
belonging to them, the inhabitants of Khulda fell on them, and began regular warfare. 
Messengers were sent to the Beni-Malik, i. e., Emmaus. Yalo, Bethmeba, who cried out 
at the top of their voices: "'The Mahasry (inhabitants of Beth-Mahsir) are slaught- 
ered." The dormant ranks of the old divisions of belligerents were roused, and the 
"battle-line" was formed, and the armed villagers marched against the enemy, the 
*'Saf" of Abu Ghosh against the "Saf" of Laham. When the Lahamites saw the Beni- 
Malik advancing, they retired and left the booty which they had gathered, and never 
appeared again. Xaturally. the further the villages are away from the centres of gov- 
ernment, the fiercer the contests. 

The Christian Churches have also many landed properties, but more especially 
the Greek Church, and next, the Latin and Armenian Churches. The Greek Church 
possesses immense olive-yards about Mar Elias, midway between Jerusalem and Bethle- 
hem, in Bethlehem and Beth-Jala and Jerusalem, the well-known Nicophoriyeh. The 
vineyards about el-Khadr. St. George's Asylum, are also owned by the Greeks, in con- 
sequence, it is said of a bargain made by the Abbot and the fellahin, by paying them 
a certain sum for all the lands he could see from the convent. The bargain agreed, the 
Abbot went on top of the convent and showed them the lands. Thus he became owner 
of a great part of the vineyards and the fine arable lands forming the plain of El Khadr. 
The convent has many yokes of oxen to cultivate the ground. There are also about 
a dozen olive trees on the road from Jerusalem to Hebron, marked by crosses hewn 



182 



The Modern Inhabitants of Palestine 



in the gnarled old stems, which the Greek convent claimed as their own, and which 
they received after the ordinary process in the Orient. It is said the Greek Convent 
possesses deeds written on a gazelle's skin from the Khalif Omar himself, and sealed by a 
print of his whole hand, confirming them in their proprietorship of houses and lands. 
The Latins also have bought lands, but, as a rule, they do not date many years back. 

The Fellahm buy and sell their lands, but is always understood and mentioned 
in the deeds that the relations desist from all their rights, which in case of foreigners 
must be paid. This is the "right of redemption," as it is called in Jeremiah xxxii. 8. 




camel ploughing 



Hak il-bida is always observed, and the sale is never complete as long as the minor 
relatives are not of age, to signify their will, or renounce their rights; accordingly it is 
always very difficult to arrange a sale, especially if the family of the seller is very large. 

Mr. Baldensperger's treatise on the morals of the Arabs was published in the 
Quarterly Statement of the Palestine Exploration Fund for 1897. It is extremely 
interesting in the form of question and answer. 

1. What sort of reputation have the people which you are describing? 

Answer. It is very different; thus, the Bethlehemites may be divided into three 
classes: the Muslim Fawaghre, the Greek Christians, and the Latin Christians. As 
the name of the Muslims indicates, they came from Beit-faghur, a village above the 



The Modern Inhabitants of Palestine 



183 



Wadv el Biar, now in ruins. Towards the end of the last century they took possession 
of a part of Bethlehem. They are darker than the Latin Christians, who themselves 
are descended from European Christians who came here as pilgrims and merchants, many 
probably being of Venetian origin, as their Italian -sounding names still denotes. Most 
of the Christians of the Greek Church closely resemble the Muslims. They are the 
original Christians of Bethlehem, or have flocked to this centre in the course of centu- 
ries. 

Truthfulness, honesty, or the contrary, are very relative qualities. These people 
would not call themselves liars for putting facts in a way to serve their own ends, nor 
do they consider a man dishonest who does not steal anything of considerable value. 
The word thief harami, or khain, is only used for burglars or robbers. Also there are 
different ways of viewing some things which are allowed. Thus, a man may take grapes 
from a vineyard in the daytime, but if he take them by night he is called a thief and 
punished as such. Of course there is a good deal of common sense in this, for the first 
man only means to eat grapes, whilst the nocturnal visitor steals. The Fawaghre were 
formerly burglars, but have of late years taken to work, generally carrying loads be- 
tween Jerusalem and Jaffa, or from the stone quarries to Jerusalem. The Beit Jala 
Christians, who were almost all originally of the Greek Church, are generally considered 
braver and more generous than Bethlehem Christians, and they are also less given to 
mercantile pursuits. Bethlehem Christians have been travelling the world over for 
the last twenty-five years, whilst Beit Jala Christians are stone-carriers or lime-burners, 
and the habit of being out day and night influences the character to a great extent. 
The less the fellahin frequent the towns the braver they may be considered, but honesty 
is not one of the virtues they can boast of. Highway robbery is less practised now than 
it used to be, but some villages seem to have a predilection for burglary — those situated 
near towns being often tempted to this — whilst those nearer the great roads leading 
from one town to another incline to highway robbery. Kuryet el 'Enab, commonly 
known as Abu Ghosh, has had its notoriety as a robber village, and the inhabitants still 
retain some of the impudence of their immediate ancestors. Lifta as well as Malhah 
were of the burgling order. Urtas and el Khadr, small and out of the way, may be 
classed as peaceful and, to a great extent, honest. Deir Eyub, not far from Bab el 
Wad, are notorious robbers and thieves to this day. Perhaps this has been brought 
about by their situation, which enables them to survey the road from Jaffa to Jerusa- 
lem without themselves being seen, whilst the inhabitants of Beit Mahsir, also not very 
far from the road, but without the same facility for surveillance, are more retired, 
brave, peaceful, and industrious. In years gone by when their powerful neighbors of 
Kuryet Abu Ghosh used to make raids upon them, they would submit without mur- 
muring. Very much depends on the origin of the different villagers, religion always 
having had some part in it. Abu Ghosh and Emmaus, near Latroun, are of the same 
origin, most likely of Circassian descent, whence their arrogance. Sarafend el Kharab, 
four kilometres west of Ramleh, has a very wicked population taken all in all, differing 
greatly from their next neighbors of Kubeibeh, of Egyptian origin, who, although of no 
very good reputation, still are more peaceable than the Sarafend people. Then again, 
almost all villagers along the Jerusalem road are petty thieves, and have more immoral 
vices than those living further away ; also they are less generous in consequence of their 
continual contact with strangers of all classes and nations. The word brave, translated 
by the fellahin into man, is developed into several meanings; thus, a man gives to eat 
to any stranger passing by, as well as being brave in fighting. Again, manliness, may 



184 Woman in the East 

be shown by taking away property forcibly from other villagers, or from those living 
in the same village, usually as a punishment; this is called robbing, in their legal way, 
and is restricted to some villages. The further off from the seat of Government, the 
hardier and bolder they are to execute their own laws. Going to accuse in towns shows 
decadence of their independence. 

Mr. Baldensperger's treatise on "Woman in The East," in Palestine Exploration 
Fund, Quarterly Statement, 1899, is equally interesting: 

"The European or American traveller landing at any port in the East is struck by 
the curious way in which women are dressed. Visiting any of the towns, he meets 
townswomen very different from the countrywomen, and it is well here to say that, 
generally speaking, the population of Palestine is divided into three very distinct classes 
viz. : the townspeople ; the country people, or sedentary agricultural population; and the 
nomadic Arabs, or Bedawin. There are other nations, or tribes from other lands, who 
have settled in the country, but who are still considered strangers, as the Jews, the Tur- 
comans, the Circassians, the Egyptians, and the Gipsies; these last have been in Pales- 
tine for many centuries, but have still a language of their own. 

The townspeople are known as Madaniye, from Madine, the town ; and el Medina, 
in Arabia, has its name from being the town of the Prophet, and is therefore designated 
by Muslims as Madinet en Nabi ("Town of the Prophet"). The difference between 
the habits of the Madaniye and country people, or Fellahin, as they will be called in the 
course of this narrative, is very great, and each one talks with great contempt of the 
other. "He is a Madani," or "He is but a Fellah" — these sentences tell enough. The 
townsfolk, or Madaniye, are traders and mechanics, or are employed by the Government 
or by townships. 

The family life of the Madani himself is restricted to a mere nothing, for during 
day-time the man is about his business, and keeps his wife or wives strictly hidden 
from the looks of the outsider. The houses in towns are always built with this view 
of hiding the harem, or females. Very often the man has a slave, who acts as spy. Slav- 
ery is now abolished in Turkey — at least legally; but virtually it still exists, though, 
taken as a rule, the slaves are well treated, and when they have passed a number of 
years with a family, and all hopes of returning to their country have vanished, they 
become so attached that it is a punishment to dismiss them. This is always what people 
in favor of slavery advance — that a freed slave is helpless, and does not even care to 
leave his master's home. This may be quite true of slaves of both sexes who have 
passed, if not all, at least the greater part of their lives in the position of slavery, and 
who may have been well treated by their masters or mistresses. They find it very diffi- 
cult to earn a living; for, it must be remembered, they were stolen from Central Africa, 
where they had been happy. 

Naturally, such boys or girls, taken away from their relatives, carried away 
hundreds of miles to the coast, and thence embarked to Asiatic ports, or even sold in 
African towns, are wholly at a loss. Never can such a slave, freed after having passed 
twenty or more years in the service of a man, wish anything better than to continue in 
slavery. His home may never be traced, and chances of his being recaptured on the 
way home are nine hundred and ninety-nine in one thousand : he has learned nothing 
by which he can earn a living, and consequently is doomed to eternal slavery. Now it 
must here be said, in favor of such slavery, that marriages are contracted and new 
families formed entirely from the master's purse; thus the slave is provided with what- 
ever he or she wants — meat, drink, and clothing, and husband or wife are given; the 



Womak ix the East 



185 



children, too, are brought up on the master's account, and are free. The work of these 
slaves is easv: thev help their mistress in the cooking, carry home the things which the 
husband may have bought in the market, sweep the house and keep the kitchen utensils 
in order, bring water, hand it in clean glasses, and prepare the pipes for all the inmates, 
whether master, mistress, or grown-up sons. 

The houses of the .cities are all built with a small window above the gate, through 
which the inmates look to see if a caller is admissible. The flat roofs are always sur- 
rounded by high crenulated walls, through which persons on the roof can observe the 
surroundings, but cannot be seen from outside. These roofs are the general sitting 
places, and on warm evenings reception places. "When a stranger approaches a house 
he knocks, and is not admitted except he be accompanied by a relative, either the owner 
of the house or some authorised man. In answer to the knock it is always asked: 
"Who is there?" The visitor says: "I." If his voice is known the door is opened; if 
not, he is asked: "TTho is T'r" "T, Ehmad. father of Fatnie." If the man's name be 
Ehmad, and his only daughter Fatnie, the slave girl opens the door, and the grown-up , 
women all take to some hiding place. The man now calls : "Be prepared," and, step- 
ping in, says: ""With permission." The answer: "Your permission is with you," 
being given, means ah are hid, or at least the faces of the women. 

Though in the presence of their husbands women may talk to strangers, yet 
they considerably lower their natural voice ; the less they know the person the less they 
talk to him, and then only give unavoidable answers. Should the newcomer be a guest, 
he may be shown into the parlor, and await the lord of the mansion, or the eunuch in 
very rich houses. During such a visits when only the man can be present, the slave- 
girl, herself unveiled, attends to such wants as handing a pipe to smoke or the inevitable 
tiny cup of coffee. The conversation may be about political, religious, agricultural, or 
commercial events, but never does the visitor directly inquire after the housewife, 
though he may ask about the health of the family in general. 

The women know only Arabic, and can hardly ever read or write, and so 
pronunciation is exceedingly difficult to them. Nowadays schooling has made some 
progress, but not one in a thousand of the women has ever attended any school. There 
are different kinds of schools all over the towns in Palestine. There is the Muhammadan 
school, in which little but the reading of the Koran is taught, and which is called 
the "book-place" (Kuttab). Then there is the Madrase. or college, which is intended 
for men students who wish to graduate, and the most widely-spread are the "Scolae," 
or Christian schools, of every denomination. But virtually these last-named are 
unknown to the Muhammadan women, and even should they be known, the Turkish 
Government does all in its power to prevent them from going to such schools. Some 
writing is also taught in the Kuttab, but unless the scholars intend to graduate, this first 
schooling is lost altogether from want of later practice; for they have no newspapers, 
and no books besides the Koran, which itself can be read and heard only by such as have 
leisure. "Whilst reading this book the Muslim always sways his body to and fro, and 
repeats it in a singing tone, not caring what goes on around him. As they haA*e no 
chairs, they usually sit on a mat, barefooted, with legs crossed, and the book on the lap. 
Boys and girls marry at the earliest possible age. A Turkish captain who lived over 
against our house, and had wives and sons and daughters and slaves, often invited us to 
his house. He married two of Ms sons at one time, aged eight and ten. During eight or 
ten days singing, dancing, shouting, and shooting went on ; when the boys were married 
the captain sent them to school together as husbands and wives. I remember especially 



1S6 



Woman in the East 



the boy of ten and his wife, as they passed our house day after day, beating each other 
and fighting till they disappeared round the corner of the road leading to the school 
inside the Zion Gate, and again in the afternoon on their way home. 

Christian schools are rarely visited by Muhammadan children who have both par- 
ents living, or are wealthy. Orphans may now and then be found brought up in Chris- 
tian orphanages, which are found more especially in Jerusalem. Day schools are 
eagerly set up by all Christian confessions. The Arabic Christian population differs 
mainly as regards religion, whilst in the everyday life, and even in slave-owning, it re- 
sembles that of Muhammadans. 

In the house the woman wears large pantaloons, as is the fashion of the modern 
female bicyclist, but these are made of very light printed cotton and reach to the ankles ; 
a short dress is worn over this, and a waistcoat, often richly embroidered, with tight- 
sleeves, whilst a handkerchief is carelessly thrown over the head, ever ready to be pulled 
over the face should a man appear. Always barefooted, the townswoman has wooden 
« clogs with two supports under the soles, varying from one to three or four inches high, 
a leathern strap is nailed on above, through which to pass the feet, and it is more or less 
ornamented with satin or silk embroidery; the clogs themselves also, in many cases, 
are adorned with inlaid mother of pearl in circles, triangles, or squares symmetrically 
arranged. The toes of the feet and nails of the hands of the women are stained red 
with henna, which the pilgrims always bring home with them from Mecca for their wives 
and children. The palms of the hands are also colored brown, in symmetrical lines. 
The hair all over the face and body is shaved or burnt, excepting the eyelashes and the 
hair of the head. The place where the eyebrows have been is painted black, as well as 
the eye lashes. The cheeks are painted a faint red, and the hair is dyed brown. Every 
woman has her small bottle containing kohl and a fine brush or style to paint the eyes. 
This is the general toilet of the townswoman at home. In the afternoon two or three 
hours are spent out of doors, and it is here the traveller sees those white moving mum- 
mies in a great white sheet (the Izar) thrown over the head and body, very neatly 
folded, and the ends tucked into the inner girdle; the face is covered with a thick, 
colored veil so that the face of a woman can never be seen, whilst she can see every- 
thing. They may be seen in groups of three or more moving slowly towards the 
cemeteries, where they settle down either around the grave of some departed friend 
or relative, or along the roadside to look at passers by, and unconcernedly to make 
their observations about themselves, their neighbors, or the public. Their pockets and 
hands are full of eatables, and whilst conversing they go on cracking hazel nuts or 
dried peas, or dexterously splitting with their teeth roasted and salted pumpkin 
seeds (offered for sale by hawkers), and by a quick movement of the tongue the peel is 
ejected. The days are past when sulphur-yellow soft-tanned sheepskin boots and 
shoes were the only foot-gear of the townswomen. The new-fashioned European black 
leather boots have penetrated even into out-of-the-way places, and threaten to super- 
sede the old fashion, even in secondary Muhammadan towns such as Hebron, Gaza, 
Nabulus, Tyre, etc. 

The family life of the woman is restricted to women's society, for the husband, be 
he an official or a business man, is always away from his own womenfolk. At the age 
of ten or twelve the girl begins to veil her face, never again to show herself freely, not 
even to the nearest of kin, except her brother, and in many cases even he may not see her. 

The few Protestants and all the Roman Catholic natives have in many re- 
spects left the old ways, and are trying hard to follow Western ideas, at all events as 



Woman in the East 



187 



regards clothing and unveiled faces ; whilst the women of the Greek Church still remain 
a little more like their Muhammadan sisters, and even in some places are shut up behind 
screens in the churches so as not to be seen by the men. In Jerusalem, where Greeks 
from Greece abound, the natives begin to follow the manners of those whom they meet 
at their devotions or at other assemblies. The Arabic woman brought up in this way 
does not very much feel the want of liberty, for having never possessed any, as com- 




MUSLIM WOMEN 



pared with Europeans, she feels content with her lot, and at the age of ten or twelve 
a girl is wrapped up as a woman, and must be veiled for the rest of her life in the pres- 
ence of men. 

Polygamy is usual only among the wealthy Muhammadans, for the law really 
obliges the husband to provide for every wife in a separate house, or at least separate 
rooms, and meals All these expenses, and the wedding expenses besides, are very 
great, and the peace of the family is for ever gone on a second wife being taken. 



188 



Woman in the East 



As an illustration of this, a certain Sheikh, was married to a relative of his, by whom 
he had two sons and a daughter. When she had no more children, he bought a 
white Circassian of Christian origin, who had been stolen from a Georgian district by 
Circassian robbers. He took her to wife, and when she had several sons she became 
ever more arrogant, till finally the first wife was jealous, but growing old and having no 
more children, she was discarded. On many occasions she bitterly complained about 
her new rival, and used to say: — "The father of Abed" (thus she always called her 
husband, her eldest son's name being Abed), "is rough with me, scolds me, even beats 
me sometimes. I am his first legitimate wife; I gave him two sons. I am his cousin, 
vet, woe to me ! This slave is young and beautiful, but will never be a good wife. We 
had lived these many years together from our youth." Continual strife made the old 
man miserable, till he determined to send away one of his wives, and as a matter of 
course it was the first wife, who could no more give him any children, who was 
sent away without mercy and without feeling for her sons and daughter — sent away 
to her father's house, with money and stores to provide her for a time, as Hagar was 
sent away by Abraham with bread and water. But the separation from her beloved 
sons and daughter so much affected the poor woman that she died soon afterwards, 
cursing her rival. The Sheikh yet again married a still younger woman, but his first 
wife could not be replaced, and he ever regretted Im 'Abed, "the mother of Abed;" 
but still his Muhammadan ideas surpassed his family ideas, for the aim of the Muham- 
madan's life is to leave the largest possible number of male progeny, who can repeat 
their formula of faith, thus securing to him a sure position in after life. Though they 
have very vague ideas as to what becomes of women after death, the Muhammadan who 
has lived a faithful and religious life is provided with many huriyes, or freed woimen, in 
Heaven, and lives in a great palace which was built during the hours orminutes he has 
spent in prayer whilst on earth. 

Only four legitimate wives are allowed; the man may have more wojmen, but they 
are only concubines, and his slaves generally also have children by their master, who, 
like Ishmael of old, are always considered sons of the bondwoman. He can swear to 
abandon one of the four wives — a partial divorce, and may then marry another one in 
her place, keeping the abandoned one in his house. 

This, of course, is always preceded by the betrothal. The fathers of bridegroom 
and bride agree that a certain sum is to be paid, which with the richer all goes toward 
jewelry and gold and silver ornaments for the girl, but with the poorer the father of 
the girl keeps a part. Before they agree definitively, the mother and sister of the bride- 
groom visit the girl, who is stripped naked, and they refuse to accept her if she be not 
very well formed. The dowry is now paid by the bridegroom's father, and when the 
whole sum and ornaments agreed upon are paid the marriage ceremony takes place. 
A week previous to the wedding the festivities begin in the house of the bridegroom. 
The women all assemble and an expert, sitting down, knocks in marked time on a small 
drum whilst she sings three lines, and is accompanied by all the women present with 
clapping of hands; at the fourth line the loud " zaghreet," or ululation, is uttered. 
When they can afford it they bring women singers from Egypt or Damascus, who have 
(at least, in Oriental ears) fine voices, and they are very proud of this, as these singers 
are often richly recompensed. We find in Eccles. ii. 8., Solomon mentioning amongst 
such things as only the wealthy can do, that "he bought him also women singers, 
and the delights of the sons of men, as musical instruments, and that of all sorts." 
The most renowned of such instruments, the "kanoon," is a sort of horizontal harp, 



Womax in the East 



1S9 



and is the favorite instrument for weddings ; to play this more easily they have a harp 
thimble on the fingers to touch the strings. These singers also dance, distorting their 
bodies, and clapping with the castanets to mark the time. The bride is loaded with 
ornaments and jewelry, either representing her dowry or in many cases only borrowed 
from her relatives, to adorn her for the occasion. She does not have a white wedding 
dress, but many colored dresses, all which she wears successively, even if there are a 
dozen; she is clad in one in her room, then led forth by the women a few paces to be 
admired, and when this is done she is led back, another costume is put on and, if pos- 
sible, other ornaments, and again she is led out. then back again, till all the dresses are 
shown to the bridegroom. She is now led through the streets to her bridegroom's 
house, where the final feast is given. This final procession is generally made in the 
evening; the singing of the women is always the loudest, the men, however, also ac- 
companying. The wedding supper is now given to all friends and relatives; the better 
classes only go to such a wedding on invitation, whilst the mass of people go with- 
out an\" invitation, and as in the description of a marriage in St. Matt. xxii. 10. '"As 
many as be found, both bad and good," furnish the wedding with guests. Food of 
all kinds is served: the inevitable "pillaw," or boiled rice with butter, colored yellow 
with saffron, and other dishes of meat and vegetables, and many sweet dishes, amongst 
which the " ma "mool " is always seen ; this is made of groats, sugar, and butter. Be- 
sides the "ma "mool" and the "knafie," there is the "baclawe," the "imtabbak," 
the "timrie," and so on. 

If the party is Christian, the bride is led to the church, where the bridegroom awaits 
her, and the religious ceremony according to the confession is performed. The Mu- 
hammadan bride is not taken to their mosque, the religious part of the ceremony is done 
as quietly as possible by the kadi or judge of the place, who in Muhammadan countries 
is sacerdotal, and who alone may marry the couple. Only the bridegroom and the next 
male relative of the bride come into the room, and the judge addresses them somewhat 
as follows: — the two men holding each other's hands. First to the father of the bride : 
"Did you, Hassan, give Hamde. the daughter of Hassan, to Khaleel to be her legal 
husband according to the profession of Abu Hanify?" The father of the bride. Hassan, 
answers: "I gave." The same question and answer are repeated a second and third 
time. Then the judge addresses the bridegroom, and says: "Did you, Khaleel. accept 
Hamde, the daughter of Hassan, that you may be her legal husband according to the 
profession of Abu Hanify?" The bridegroom answers : " I have accepted." And again 
a second and a third time the same question and the same answer are repeated. All 
this is done apart from other people, for should any man or woman unfavorable to the 
marriage be within hearing distance they may hinder future happiness by various acts; 
smoking during the ceremony is believed to make all future felicity go up in smoke, 
strewing flour or earth on the ground is believed to throw away or even bury their happi- 
ness. These superstitions are believed in by all Muhammadans and Christians. Of 
these latter some few families brought up and educated in Christian schools have ceased 
to believe them ; but should by marriage a less educated woman or man be introduced 
into the fa mi ly, as among the Israelites of old, they again bow down to modern Baalim 
and Ashteroth, which have strongly taken root amongst the native inhabitants. And 
often even we find modern Sauls who have passed their lives persecuting those having 
familiar spirits and wizards, but who come back in their old age to ask the witch at En- 
dor what will happen on the morrow. 



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Superstitions and silly beliefs are so widely spread amongst the inhabitants, and 
so firmly believed by all natives, no matter to what religion or confession they belong, 
that this forms a kind of religion in which the extremes meet in a kind of third opinion, 
in which Occidental and Oriental Christians are wholly separated, and wherein native 
Christians and Muhammadans wholly agree. As long as these bonds of unity have 
not been thoroughly destroyed, so long also will the work of civilization and evangel- 
ization be exceedingly difficult amongst the Christian natives, and still more so amongst 
the Muhammadans. Christ himself often had to fight against these superstitions and 
traditions, as when He says in Matt, xv, 6, to the scribes and Pharisees: "Thus have 
ye made the commandment of God of no effect by your tradition," or in Mark vii. 
8 : "Ye hold the tradition of men as the washing of pots and cups, and many other such 
like things ye do." More than a thousand years before Christ, King Saul is found try- 
ing to establish the true religion. Centuries went by — Isaiah, Jeremiah in vain tried 
to abolish superstitions. And now nearly two thousand years later we meet the same 
beliefs still firmly held and hindering progress among the descendants, although under 
different denominations. 

As already remarked, the Christian couple are united in the church, and here the 
bridegroom and bride (the latter veiled excepting among the occidentalised classes) 
are taken through the streets together at a very slow pace (this having become pro- 
A'erbial — "Slow as a bride") to the bridegroom's house. Here the bride is taken in 
procession from her room to the bridegroom, continually changing her clothes, to display 
all she has before her husband, this often taking all the night through, till she is half 
dead in the morning. 

All presents, clothes, household utensils, the never-forgotten looking-glass, and the 
bedding are carried on the heads of servants or porters in rear of the procession or in 
front to the house of the bridegroom. 

The bride enters the house backwards, facing the bridegroom, a loaf of bread and 
jug of water are presented to her, she eats and drinks of this as a symbol of plenty for 
the future. A steel knife is put on the threshold on which the bride steps before enter- 
ing; this is intended to cut off all sorcery. At the door of the room the same ceremonies 
are gone through, and the bride now puts her hand flat against the doorpost, whilst the 
bridegroom with his fist beats her on the hand as a token of her submission and of his 
authority. On entering the room she sits down and sups with the women, whilst the 
bridegroom has his supper with the men, and then bridegroom and bride again have 
a supper. All night through, singing, dancing, eating, and drinking are indulged in. 
The next day is the particular "women's feast," and the bride kisses the hand of every- 
one present. On receiving a gift of money the bride also kisses the hand of the giver. 
The feast is now ended, and every one goes about his business. Eight or ten days later 
the bride is invited to her father's house, to which she will not go back unless invited, 
and should this invitation not be made it is considered a great offense. 

Woman 's religion is confined to some observances, as keeping the thirty days' fast of 
Ramadan, during which month all adult Muhammadans are expected to fast during 
daylight from meat, drink, and smoking, whilst the nights are spent in all kinds of rev- 
elry; wine and strong drink are forbidden to believers, and are never used by women. 
As the Muhammadan year has twelve lunar months they are continually losing, so that 
the same date is eleven days in advance on the following year, and they lose one year 
in about thirty-three of ours. In consequence of this moving of the months the fast 
is less difficult to keep when it comes during the short and cool winter days than when 



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it occurs during the long and hot summer days. When they can afford it amongst the 
richer classes they sleep away the fasting hours, whilst the poorer working classes have 
to bear the burden and heat of the day while fasting. Tile nights are turned to day, 
women visit each other, and enjoy to some degree their liberty, and alas! very often 
this liberty degenerates into debauchery. As they are strictly shut up during eleven 
months of the year, necessarily they abuse their liberty. 




MUSLIMS PRAYING IN THE MOSQUE 

Women do pray sometimes, but not as a rule, as Muhammadan law virtually, 
if not actually, forbids prayers for women, or renders them next to impossible. It 
must be understood that prayers amongst Muhammadans are a repetition, twice to 
five times of the same sentences, consisting of the first (opening) chapter of the Koran, 
to which, more or less, their own impressions may sometimes be added. As a rule, 
however, the believer has five prayers in twenty-four hours, which are obligatory. It 
is a debt ever}- Muslim owes to God. and whoever misses them has to repeat them the 
next day, or afterwards: prayer of the same hours accumulate, and can only be said at 



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corresponding hour or hours. If one has been missed, next day it is to be repeated 
after the day's regular prayer. The five prayers are thus distributed during the day: — 
(t) The morning prayer, to be said from the first streaks of daylight till noon. (2) 
The midday prayer, from noon to about four o'clock. (3) The afternoon prayer, 
or 'Asr, from four to sunset. (4) The sunset prayer, from sunset to the disappearing 
of daylight. (5) The evening prayer, till midnight. At midnight some zealous 
persons may repeat prayers to the prophet Muhammad, but they are altogether 
optional. Prayers are preceded by ablutions, without which the prayer is useless. 
The hands and feet, face, and all issues are to be washed. With many sects women 
are considered so unclean that the very shadow of a woman falling on one who prays 
defiles the ablution, and this must be renewed. Under such circumstances, it maybe 
easily understood how difficult it is for women to pray at all, as at certain times they 
are unfit even for ablution, and much more so for prayers. Thus, young girls, before 
the age of puberty, may begin to say prayers, but cease, not to begin again until 
they have passed the age of child-bearing. It is well here to say that old maids are 
practically unknown. The place where prayers may be said is a point which helps 
Muhammadanism to a great extent, for they may be said in any clean place, either 
alone or in unison. The whole of the earth is clean. 

Prayers forgotten in this life must be repeated in the next, at the gate of hell, on an 
elevated red hot flat iron plate, and every time the man touches the floor his forehead 
is burnt, and made whole again, and so on, till the whole of the missed prayers are gone 
through. 

Before beginning the prayer the person quietly says: "I intend to pray;" then 
spreading out the mantle, taking off his shoes, and facing Mecca (in Palestine this is 
to the south-east). First standing upright and lifting both hands to the sides of the 
temples, then letting them fall again, then crossing them, next bowing, then standing 
up again; now going down on the knees, then kissing the ground, raising the body 
and kissing the ground again — this constitutes one " kneeling." Every prayer consists 
of two to five such kneelings, In every kneeling the first opening chapter of the Koran, 
known as the "fati'ha," is said. A person in haste may say: " I am only going to pray 
two kneelings." Or in talking: "I just had prayed two kneelings when" — so and so. 
These prayers, as is easily understood, are supposed to benefit the performer a good 
deal, no matter how bad he or she may be, according to their idea of good. To illustrate 
this: a person may be praying, and whilst praying he may not smile or think about 
anything else, but between two kneelings one may interrupt his prayer, and before 
getting up from the knees, make such observations as seem fit, or even altogether unfit, 
according to our civilized notions. We will suppose a woman has "intended to pray," 
and given the kitchen in charge to her slave ; she might interrupt her prayer at the end 
of one kneeling, saying: " Oh, Sa'ide (the name of the slave), look to the rice, it is steam- 
ing too fast;" then she may say her second and third kneeling, and remark that her 
slave does not pay attention. She may shriek out: "Cursed be your father, oh Sa'ide, 
wait till I have said my prayer; cursed be your grandfather and your great grand- 
father! I'll teach you to obey!" then going on to pray. The following is a translation 
of the obligatory prayer: — "In the name of God the merciful, the compassionate. 
Thanks be to God, the Lord of the universe, the merciful, the compassionate. Who 
reigns on the Judgment Day. We worship thee, we honor thee. Show unto us the 
straight way. The way of those on whom is favor, those who are no object of wrath, 
nor the erring. Amen." The path mentioned in the prayer is a supposed bridge 



Woman in the East 



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which will be fixed on the Temple wall of Jerusalem on one side and on the top of the 
Mosque of Mount Olivet on the other, whilst a huge fire will fill the Valley of Jehosha- 
phat below. On the Judgment Day, when all men will be assembled on the Temple 
area, Muhammad will make them pass the bridge. All such as have said their prayers 
will pass to the other side, whilst such as have omitted them will fall into the fire. 
But Muhammad will save the Muslims after their having burned for a while. 

Taken as a whole, the women are very careless in observing the prayers, should 
they even be fit after a given age to pray. Having passed their best age without pray- 
ing, it is rare that they begin to pray later on. The Arabic townswoman may be 
compared with Lot's wife, or Michal, Saul's daughter, on an average. As exceptions 
there may be modern Miriams or Deborahs, two other types of townswomen. Though 
on every occasion of public rejoicing or sorrow a leader like Miriam of old is always 
present, singing before the women, and all others answer her — especially at funerals, 
or as mourners — yet such " foresingers " are supposed to be very wicked, and hell is 
their sure recompense, as wailing is forbidden by law. 

Superstitions — as with all ignorant people, though possessing a certain degree of 
civilization — are with women certainly stronger than religion, or, at all events, more 
firmly believed. Timid as is the nature of women in general, their timidity is here so 
exaggerated that no woman will step into a dark room even in her own house, but will 
always be accompanied and carry a light. 

Evil spirits and all kinds of ghosts fill the Arabic world, whether Christian or 
Muslim, in and out of houses, in the country or in the town, on land or on water. Yet 
some places are naturally more haunted than others. Thus cemeteries are especially 
alive with invisible beings, appearing and- disappearing at will on Thursday evenings. 
Friday being the sacred day of the Muhammadans, the ghosts also assemble on the eve, 
for prayer or for mischief. It is therefore better to avoid cemeteries on Thursday 
evenings. Muslim ghosts appear frequently, and especially to Muslims, though 
sometimes also to native Christians, but baptism is a protection against the ghosts- 
Occidentals never see any, because they do not believe in them, therefore the Muslims 
declare that they do not appear. 

There are five or six very distinct classes of ghosts, whilst the chief class, and at 
the same time the most numerous (believed to number as many as there are human 
beings, if not more) live immediately under ground, and are known as the Jan or Jinn 
— the generic name of all ghosts — though there are Jan species, who have different 
names and functions among the general mass of Jan. The Jan eat, drink, have their 
governors and Muhammadan laws, but have no food of their own; they have to pro- 
vide for this from human beings. They are supposed to be ever lurking about dry 
food or cooking places. And if a woman touch any bread, or flour, or butter, or what- 
ever it may be, and omit to call on the name of the Lord, the Jan immediately seizes 
their portion of the food which they carry away unseen into their underground dwellings. 
Therefore, no woman will dare to do anything, not so much as step out of a room, 
without saying: "In the name of God the merciful, the compassionate," and never 
will they talk about these ghosts save in a very respectful manner, naming God at every 
other sentence ; and they think it better to avoid talking of them at all, for the Jan listen 
to all that is said, and see whatever is done, and will take their vengeance. At certain 
moments they have power to kill persons, should the human transgression as to the 
Jan be too great. They may also take human beings to be judged at their courts of 
justice, but it is assured that in the Jan's court there is no bribery — this only is to 



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Woman in the East 



show en passant how corrupt the courts are on earth. There are men, women, and 
children amongst the Jan, and on some occasions they even intermarry with human 
beings. 

Once in Palestine a servant who did his work very well, was asked by his master 
to keep his bees in an isolated place several miles from Ramleh, in Philistia. After 
having refused altogether, he declared that a female Jan was in love with him, and 
so very jealous that she would make herself visible, at least to him, but only when he 
was quite alone. She struck him if he only smiled at any woman, but if she met him 
alone she would strike him half dead to the ground, so that he was sometimes stunned 
for several hours; in consequence of which he never went out alone, not even by day, 
as even then she appeared and scolded him for the merest trifles. It, however, trans- 
pired afterwards that this man was an epileptic. Yet again a male Jan may be in love 
with human women. Another man in service had beaten his wife so brutally that 
she fell on the hearth. Of course, the Jan in love with her had a chance to take hold 
of her spirit, as she had come down suddenly to his abode without calling "the Merci- 
ful." This Jan told her at once to follow him to Egypt, where they could live openly 
together, whilst in the "Holy Land" this was not allowed to them. He had almost 
persuaded her to flee, when the priests became aware of it, and by praying and incensing 
they cut off the communication. The poor woman had been robbed of her senses when 
falling, and, her mind being full of the Jan, in her insanity she talked of nothing but 
of the Jan, and a secret wish was also felt to leave her husband. When she became 
well again she left this off, but her Jan lover was only waiting for another occasion. 

A second kind of ghost is the bad spirit called " Kird," more of a country devil or 
goblin. 

Then comes the "Mared," a very tall spirit, appearing chiefly in towns, and in 
places where people have been killed, at first during the first year; then only periodi- 
cally to remind the world where the spot is. Muhammadans drive big iron or wooden 
pegs into such a place to prevent these ghosts appearing, whilst Christians make a 
cross. This Mared is the terror of the townswomen, and not one but has had some ad- 
venture with him. For sometimes he not only appears but talks, calls, mocks, cries, 
or laughs. He is generally white. 

Next is the "Rassad," or treasure-keeper, hovering over hidden treasures, and 
appearing when necessary to drive away the treasure-seekers or put them out of the 
track. It has the faculty of changing into all kinds of living things — into a single 
animal, or even into a number, as a hen and her chickens, or a red and a white filly. 
Sometimes this spirit attacks, sometimes only frightens away human beings. 

The Karine is a female spirit accompanying every woman, and has just the same 
number of children as the human woman, to whom she is attached. If the woman's 
character be good, this spirit is also good and kind, if the woman be quarrelsome or 
anyhow of bad disposition, the Karine is so too, and even chastises the human children. 
King Solomon, who had power over the Jan, asked this spirit one day what her busi- 
ness was. She told him: "Everything contrary to the happiness of conjugal life." 
She even gave the King direction how to charm her away. Such charms can be 
bought from dream explainers, soothsayers, and the like. 

Charms are very much believed in, and to find a more extensive market they are 
rarely good for two evils. Every charm is written, enveloped, burned, and so forth 
in a different way. 



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Besides good and evil spirits, men or women also may have a very bad influence 
on" others. Especially the "Evil Eye" is very much feared. Now it is very re- 
markable with all these superstitions and beliefs the "name of God " is used only before 
the evil comes, never when the evil has effectually taken hold. On approaching a child 
or pet animal they will invariably say: " I surround you with God." or " God's name be 
upon you." "May the evil be out," and like expressions, before asking the name or 
health of the child. But should the effect of the Evil Eye in some way or other have 
done any harm, then charms alone are sought after. With a child as soon as it feels 
sick, whether from bad food or a cold, this is first attributed to the Evil Eye. The 
next tiling is to find out the person who did the mischief, and, if possible, to get a piece 
of rag or any bit of clothing belonging to that person which is then burned below the 
child, and the fumes in many cases are considered salutary. Should the evil, however, 
be of a more obstinate nature experts are brought, and they have many methods. One 
of the more simple methods is to take a piece of alum, salt, incense, and a piece of tama- 
risk wood, or palm of Palm Sunday, and to put all these ingredients in a pan on the 
fire, and take the child round it seven times. A cracking of the alum or salt indicates 
that the effect of the Evil Eye is broken. The Arabs also think "prevention is better 
than cure." and therefore to avoid the Evil Eye all kinds of charms are put round the 
necks and heads of children. Blue beads especially are often seen hanging round 
the head, or as a final bead in a necklace. Animals also have always a blue bead, 
or bone, or tortoise shell around the neck. Blue eyes are very rare amongst Arabs, and 
are considered bad: therefore blue beads to attract the Evil Eye. But the effect of the 
Evil Eye is not confined to children : anybody may be brought to suffer from it. Written 
charms are sewed in a triangular leather bag. and either sewed into the headgear or 
worn round the neck, but generally in some visible place lest the charm may be lost. 

The nursing of the sick is practically unknown. Fatalism opposes human inter- 
ference, everything is from God. and especially disease. So they are either alto- 
gether left to themselves, or wrongly nursed. The sick person is given whatever may 
please him or her; and as doctors may not visit the women, the task is a very difficult 
one, though in the large towns — Jerusalem, Beyrout, or Jaffa —where the European Medi- 
cal Departments have worked for nearly half a century, they have at length won some 
confidence, but still as a doctor must feel the pulse or see the tongue, in many cases 
this is forbidden by the husbands of Muhammadans. Christians have more confidence 
in European doctors. In spite of all precautions many will not take the medicines 
prescribed for them, or if the medicines have to be taken three of four times, and at 
the first time of taking, the cure be not almost immediate, it is thrown away, and per- 
haps ignorance or incapacity of the doctor is pretended. Koran verses are considered 
more efficacious in most cases, and they will sometimes only go to a doctor when al- 
most all hope is gone. The native doctors practise blood-letting and give laxatives. 
They have no idea of holding to one remedy, but will try a dozen on the same day, 
as the visitors may bring new knowledge. The sick room is continually full of noisy 
visitors who discuss the state of the sick person , every one knowing best what to do ; so 
it is not unusual to find four or more groups, each one discussing a remedy, and wholly 
despising the other, whilst the patient, or at least the family, may accept them all. 
and try them in turns, at the same time assuring the patient that so and so tried it, and 
she was healed, so and so refused and died, and so forth. 

When a visitor comes to the sick the first thing he says is: "Your health," or 
"May evil be away," and the sick person will answer: "God spare you and let your 



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Woman in the East 



children live. Then the person may say : "God's name on you," " Since when are you 
in bed?" and so forth. Coffee is given to the visitors, and anything talked about ex- 
cept the sickness. The sick room is filled with clouds of disagreeable tobacco-smoke, 
and the nerves of the sick are thus put to a test. Never does it happen, as with Occi- 
dentals, that the sick person is kept quiet, for the more visits the more honor. 

Contagious diseases are not more carefully avoided by the mass of visitors than 
others; as everything that happens is due to destiny , and everything was written from 
the beginning: no precautions can help. 

Cholera, plague, and the like are treated in the same negligent way. The 
government indeed does establish quarantine as soon as an epidemic is said to be 
raging in some neighboring country or province ; but this is most often only a means 
of making money. 

Bites of venomous serpents, scorpions, or the like, are treated by serpent-charm- 
ers, and in case such are not to be had immediately, any mollah may be of use, chant- 
ing Koran passages, or putting such verses written on paper on the wounds. What 
keeps the people to this belief is the crafty way in which those charmers keep them in 
ignorance as to the venomous or harmless kinds of serpents. Surgery, just as in West- 
ern countries, is more of a real science, and many cases of radical cure are known, 
which, given the very elementary instruments they possess, may be called very good. 
Broken arms, legs, fingers, and so forth, limbs that can be well adjusted and bandaged 
all round, are very quick to heal; whilst ribs, or such-like bones, or musket-ball wounds, 
are not easily healed. Scrofulous diseases are common, but scald-heads are the most 
common and detested. This is believed to be produced by a gecko, which is found in all 
houses in towns ; or by bats dropping their excrements as they flutter about in the even- 
ing. Born cripples and deformed children are certainly an exception, and at all events 
a good deal less common than in the West, for various reasons. It may perhaps be 
suggested that a great, if not radical cause is the total absence of stays, an article 
unknown to Oriental women. Civilization alone will introduce this useless article 
into Arabian towns, and be in future a cause of producing more deformed children. 
Another reason may be that all women are married, and have consequently no il- 
legitimate children whom they may have tried to discard. Again, the more children, 
the happier the family; no regret is felt as to numbers, and full development is allowed. 
Cripples still may be born, but from want of careful nursing, voluntarily or involun- 
tarily, they seldom grow old, and mostly die as infants. 

Ophthalmia is perhaps the disease most generally spread and doing the greatest 
mischief. Certain towns suffer a great deal more than others for various reasons. 
Jerusalem is more than 2,400 feet above the level of the sea, and though periodically 
eye diseases may prevail, and may also make many victims, yet this is nothing in com- 
parison with Ramleh and Lydda. It may be said that in neither of the last-named 
towns is there to be found a single family altogether free from eye disease of some 
kind or other. Hundreds of families are there in which every member has a 
different degree of the disease. Out of a hundred boys in a mission school, at least 
ninety-five had sore eyes of some sort, being either blind altogether or blind of one eye, 
or chronically dim-sighted, and so forth. This alarming state has been attributed 
to the terrible heat in summer — as Lydda is often termed "small hell"; others look for 
the cause in the sands which abound, and are driven into the eyes by the wind; yet 
again, many attribute it to the universal filthiness, for water is not always to be had, 
especially when the people go out of the town to live in the vineyards through the sum- 



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197 



mer, and they are glad to have even the necessary water for food and drink. Some 
believe it due to the masses of cactus hedges which grow all around the gardens, and 
which are filled with minute thorns (especially when the fruit ripens), which are very 
easily blown by the wind, and thus carried into the eyes. It is very probable that 
this cause may be one, combined with others, which produces this disastrous calamity. 
Hospitals are increasing in all towns, but Jerusalem alone possesses a special Ophthal- 
mic Hospital. 

Red beads dangling about the diseased eyes are considered very salutary, and are 
seen very often hanging about the women and children. Years ago all Occidentals 




LEPERS OF JERUSALEM 



were supposed to be doctors, and no " sooner did they pay a visit than they were asked 
for some kind of medicine. 

Another hideous town disease, though the patients come mostly from the country, 
is leprosy. Any traveler in the East remembers to have seen the rows of lepers sitting 
by the road outside the gates of the towns, stretching out their fingerless hands, and 
with a hoarse voice asking God's blessing and long life to the passers-by, in return for 
which wish they always receive coins. These people live in separate houses, which the 
municipalities put at their disposal, and in these all lepers are obliged to reside. Jeru- 
salem is also the only town with a hospital for lepers; though they cannot be cured, 
they are better cared for, are taken away from mendicity, and are taught to pass their 



198 



Woman in the East 



time in such work or distraction as is fit for them. The disease is incurable as men- 
tioned, but happily for the nurses, if thorough cleanliness is observed, it is not con- 
tagious, but it is hereditary. Children are free from leprosy till the age of twelve, 
and in many instances the disease may leap one generation to appear again in the next. 
The leprosy now found in Palestine is not the disease so often mentioned in the Bible. 
Moses' hand was leprous and "as snow," and Miriam became a leper as white as snow. 
The modern leprosy is different, and is only contagious if the matter from a leper be 
brought into the blood or into the wound of another. As already observed, lepers 
gather always around the towns, and as was the custom thousands of years ago, sit at 




JERUSALEM BEGGARS 

the city gates and wait till the passers-by give them whatever they may happen to have. 

Beggars of both sexes are met with in all towns, and, to a certain degree, are even 
liked, for charity is one of the precepts of Muslim law. It is a good thing to accom- 
plish this duty by giving to the mendicants. There are also different classes — those 
who sit down by the roadside, or such as go round to the houses. This class always 
knock at the door, and in a wailing tone say: "May God increase your wealth, my 
lady; God preserve to you your children. May God never show you misery; may He 
give you riches," &c. If the lady of the house be disposed to give anything, she will 
either throw down a coin or send a piece of bread, or whatever cooked food she may 
happen to have. If she can dispose of nothing, or may not feel inclined to give any- 
thing, she will call back: " May God give you!" whereupon, as a rule, the beggar retires 



Womax in the East 



199 



and tries the next gate. With Occidentals they do not give way so easily, but continue 
to worry till they receive something. Mendicants of this class in the East, as every- 
where else, are occasionally thieves or robbers, and often are very wealthy. The blind 
beggars, as a rule, are more liberally treated. But another class of holy men and beg- 
gars combined includes such as only beg in order to have something to eat and to be 
clothed. These are less troublesome ; for. although they will sit down at the gate and 
sing in long and monotonous tones either chapters of the Koran or stories in rhyme of 
the patriarchs, prophets, and saints, yet they are easily sent away by telling them 
"the Lord will provide." Many of this last-named class only beg as much as they need 
for the day, in many instances giving a portion away to a fellow-beggar who may not 
have had enough. 

All women in towns go to the public baths once a month — at least, if they can afford 
to pay, but this happens less often with the poorer classes. Friends and relations 
gather together and go to the bath as a kind of festival. In the house they do not, 
as a rule, wash themselves very often; want of water may be the cause in some towns, 
where the rain-water, as in Jerusalem, is the only supply. This is gathered in cisterns 
during the winter, and can never be used liberally. It is partly due, perhaps, to lazi- 
ness, or even a slight kind of hydrophobia or fear of the water. Obedience of boys to 
their mothers is little regarded; many think it very manly if their sons disobey and 
even beat their mothers, being, alas! very often strongly supported by the fathers. 

The meals are prepared by the women, but only the husband and other males eat 
together, leaving the women and children to follow, Boys and small girls do, how- 
ever, very often eat with their fathers. The most common or national dish is the 
"Mahshey," consisting of rice and hashed meat, rolled together in vine leaves, or hol- 
lowed vegetable marrows, into which the meat and rice are stuffed. Sour grapes are 
often squeezed on the leaves when rolled to hold them faster together. The marrow 
is often cooked in sour milk; to both dishes butter is added, and then cooked for an hour 
or two. Excepting for the better classes, who have a kitchen, most of the people have 
only portable clay-stoves, on which the charcoal fire is set , and, after burning for some 
time on the terrace, is brought into the room or the "Liwan " — an open porch, generally 
as spacious as a room, where in the warm summer months the family pass most of the 
time cooking, sewing, receiving visits, sitting down in the evenings, and sleeping in 
the night. The bedding consists of a carpet spread on the mat on the floor of the sit- 
ting-room, and in some cases a thin mattress; a pillow and a very thick cotton or wool 
stuffed quilt finishes the whole bed. Sheets are unknown, and undressing for going to 
bed consists only in loosing the girdle and taking off thick furs or overcoats and over- 
trousers for the men. The nights again, in many cases at least, are not consecrated 
altogether to sleep, but passed in sleeping a few hours, then getting up, perhaps to smoke 
a cigarette or drink water, and sleeping again, and as they are only half undressed 
this is greatly facilitated. In spite of these irregular nights they are all early risers, 
but go also early to bed. 

In the small town of Ramleh, an old Muslim midwife had with her a married 
son who knew how to read and write, and a baby and two children of eight and ten 
years. Early in the morning the old woman was up and prepared coffee for herself. 
Then she began waking the girl of eight : — " 'Ghanimeh, the time is past. I believe sleep 
is sweet in your eyes; get up. (Louder.) By the Almighty God, get up. I'll curse 
the father of your father. By God, cursed be the heart of thy father; get up! 
(After half a minute, still louder.) Get up, blood spout out of your throat, get 



200 



Woman in the East 



up . . Oh, Lord, give patience . . . Madame 'Ghanimeh (and in angry, ringing 
tones) 'Ghanimeh — 'Ghanimeh — get up! . . . (After anotifaer pause.) Eh! eh! 
eh! Blood spout out of thy throat — will you get up?" and so forth. At length the 
girl so aroused sat up, but had nothing to do but listen to the cursing of her mother, 
who now went on to wake the brother with fresh compliments, such as: "Your father 
was a learned man ; when will you get up to go to school ? Do you want to sleep 
away like an animal? Arise, before I call the pestilence to scatter you all." Happily 
this is an exception; yet the rising in the morning is supposed to be very salutary, 
and, as a rule, no jokes are allowed in the early morning hours. All kinds of exclama- 




HAREM SCENES 



tions are heard — mostly addressed to God. "Oh, bountiful !" " Oh, merciful !" and so on ; 
or if anything is asked in the morning, they generally refuse to answer, saying: "Oh, 
giver, Oh, opener — let us see ourselves or our Lord's face on this morning." With the 
same words, or something like them, beggars are sent away in the morning. The 
people, as a rule, are very grave in the morning, whilst the evenings are spent 
in all kinds of amusements, such as giving each other riddles, generally in rhymes or 
social games, or telling stories of kings and princes, riches, and wonderful tales of the 
thousand and one nights, fables, and so forth. As a rule, most of the above applies 
to Muhammadans; yet I have tried to point out where the difference is marked. Chris- 
tian women are less shy of Occidentals, and in many instances are quite sociable, yet 
come back to their old habits when alone. 



Woman in the East 



201 



Woman in the harem is, relatively speaking, perhaps happier than the Occidental 
ladv can imagine her to be, for her manner of living in seclusion strictly separated 
from men, gives her another conception of happiness and freedom, for which in one 
sense they do not even care, wholly ignoring any other condition of life. But even 
the Christian woman in Palestine, though the only wife, is practially secluded from 
masculine society, except her husband's; and in most cases she is treated as an inferior 
being. Whether Muhammadan or Christian, townswoman or Fallaha, a flogging is 
always in reserve for her, and few women can actually boast of "not having received 
any at all," however rare it may be with some. Sitting together in a family circle and 
enjoying family conversation is altogether out of their knowledge and customs. 




HAREM'SCENES 



A man will generally say in talking of his" wife to another man: "With apologies 
to yourself, it is only my secluded one. ' Many speak of "the mother of so and so," 
naming the eldest son. 

Rarely has a man full and entire confidence in his wife, as for the merest trifle she 
will swear "by God," or "by her father's life," or "by her eyes" that what she says is 
exact. The gospel teaching, originally pronounced in Palestine, "Let vour words be 
yea, yea. — and nay, nay," is wholly unknown to Orientals. 

The countrywoman, or Fallaha, the feminine of Fellah, is best represented in the 
Bible by Abigail, the wife of the wealthy Nabal, who, like the modern Fellah woman, 
had her say in the household affairs. Different from the townswoman, who has a home 
dress, and is always met with out of doors veiled and wrapped in the long white sheet. 



[202 



Woman in the East 



the Fallaha has the same clothes on in or out of the house — plain blue, sometimes 
embroidered, with the white cotton shawl over the head, but she is never veiled. The 
long blue gown reaches to her feet, and is fastened by a girdle This is generally the 
only clothing she has on. Her head, according to her wealth, is more or less visibly 
ornamented with coins, both silver and gold. Many coins are therefore to be found 
in the Orient with holes near the border, by which they are attached to the head-gear, 
which itself is plaited into the hair by strips of ribbon, and a silver chain passes under 
the chin, along which also coins of all dimensions are fixed; below the chin the chain is 
elongated, and the most valuable coin in the woman's possession terminates this, and 
hangs upon the breast. The whole fortune of a woman is thus continually carried 
about with her. Above this is worn a long white cotton shawl falling back to the waist 
framing the face, and leaving a row of coins above the forehead visible; the ends are 
stuck into the chain, which holds them in place. This every-day shawl is more or less 
embroidered round the borders and fringed with tiny tassels. On feast days or solemn 
occasions the shawl is richer, and, in most cases, of black silk fringed with red tassels. 
When the woman is at work the wide sleeves are tucked up and crossed behind the head, 
leaving the arms bare. Shoes are only worn when absolutely necessary, never in or 
about the village. Stockings are unknown. 

The Fallaha gets up at two or three in the morning, and grinds the flour in her own 
hand-mill, without which no Fellah family can exist. Often two grind together, 
singing their love songs till daylight. If they have more flour than is wanted for the 
day, it is put in a tanned skin-bag, and hung up in a corner of the room. This grind- 
ing and singing has so grown into their habits that none of the sleepers are disturbed 
by it, but often, should sleep overtake the grinder, the husband or brother is awakened 
by the stoppage of the familiar sound. In most cases they have only one room, usually 
divided into three parts. The darkest part, where straw is kept for the winter, is fur- 
nished with big clay receptacles made by the women on the spot, to store away the 
wheat, barley, lentils, and so on. The other part is divided into the lower or fore-part, 
to lodge the animals, and the elevated or hinder-part, where the family cooks, eats, 
sleeps, and sits. Rebecca, as a maiden, reminds one of this Fallaha and the house 
arrangement, when she says to Eleazar, Genesis xxiv. 25: "We have both straw and 
provender enough, and room to lodge in." The courtyard is similar to the inside, 
and may be considered as the summer habitation, for the room has generally no other 
issue than the door, rendering it intolerable during the hot summer months. A booth 
is generally made above the elevated part of the court, and visitors are received there; 
also the whole of the family doings pass outside. The same fireplace as in the inside 
is to be found. The Fallaha generally uses wood for the fire, the hearth being built 
on the floor. The room is always full of smoke and the roof black. It is no easy task, 
therefore, to pass a night in a Fellah house, on a carpet on the floor, with a coarse 
woolen cushion to lean against, and listen to their tales, or else tell them news. 

The furniture consists of one or more carpets and straw mats, to spread on 
the floor during the night, and when visitors come. The carpets are taken away in the 
day, as well as the cushions and the thick woolen or cotton coverings. All the family 
lie down in rank and file, covered by two or more coverings. All sleep in one room, 
till the youngsters grow up and get married, and either build a new house, or, as in 
most cases, the head of the family adds a new room for the newly married, who thus 
continue to live in the same court . The next most indispensable article is the hand-mill 
already mentioned, then a sieve to sift the flour, and another coarse sieve to sift the wheat. 



Woman in the East 



203 



There are also a few kitchen utensils — as earthenware pots in which to cook the 
food, and a wooden ladle to stir and take it out. Some have a circular board on which 
thev make a kind of small cut vermicelli, and a roller to roll out the dough. Salt is 
kept in an earthen jar. Honey and grape treacle, oil, and butter may be also in store 
in earthenware jars for winter. The big clay receptacles are used for cereals, whilst 
the space below, formed by their being raised on three or four legs, is used much as 




ARAB PEASANT WOMEN 



we use drawers, for keeping various articles in. The largest wooden basin, or batie. to 
make the dough, and the smaller basin, or hanabe very nearly complete the whole of 
the furniture. 

Water is generally brought from the fountain, or cistern, in skin bottles, which the 
women carry on their backs, and a rope holding this in position passes round the fore- 
head. If. however, they have no skin bottles, known as ""kirby," they have big earth- 
enware jars, which they carry on their heads. In a corner of the room a still larger 



204 



Woman in the East 



•jar with very wide opening is found, from which everybody takes out water, generally 
with a tin cup. Smaller earthenware jugs, painted red on black, are their usual drink 
receptacles; the water is poured from the spout into the open mouth from the height 
of a foot or more by inclining the head backwards. 

Coffee utensils are not to be found in every family, but generally a whole set belong 
in partnership to a part of the village. The whole set consists of a coffee-pan of iron, 
to which is chained a ladle to stir the coffee beans when on the fire ; next comes a mortar 
of wood or of very hard stone, and a pestle, also of wood or stone, in which the coffee 
is pounded — a coffee mill is never used. When the coffee is pounded as fine as possi- 




ARAB DINNER 



ble it is put into a brass coffee jug containing boiling water and boiled. When ready 
it is served on a brass tray, with tiny cups, holding little more than a tablespoonful. 

Every woman possesses a chest, generally painted red, and with thin brass ara- 
besques nailed all around, in which her treasures are hid. The lock has generally a 
ringing arrangement to warn her should any one try to open it, for, as a rule, she fears 
her husband most of all. It is locked with a large copper key, which hangs always 
round her neck, day and night. No wonder she is always vigi 1 ant, and has a continual 
eve on it, for it holds all her fortune, not only in valuables that she may possess, but 
also every piastre she may earn, which is put away into the secret drawer. If the 
wealth she may have on her head is too heavy to be carried about all day, it may be 



Woman ix the East 



205 



exchanged for a lighter head-gear, and put in the box with bracelets, necklaces, and so 
forth. She most jealously keeps it from her husband; especially when out on errands 
she fears liim, for in case of need he might break open the box and take what he wants, 
denying having touched anything. She therefore keeps him in total ignorance of 
what it may contain, in order not to lead him into temptation. It is also very much 
in her interest to have a husband who, if not altogether poor, at least is not rich, for 
she well knows that the saying is too true : If a Fellah has money enough, he chooses 
one of three things — either to go to Mecca, which is very expensive; or else to make 
some disturbance, which costs a good deal; or to get married a second time, which, 
besides the expenses, brings her a rival. 

The chest also holds her best clothes, strongly perfumed, which she only takes out 
on feast days. 

Meals are served on the ground on a home-made straw tray, round which only 
the male members of the family squat if any stranger be present, who always partakes 
of the meal. In case of absence of strangers, the wife and daughters in many cases sit 
down and partakes of the same meal as the others. This is generally served in a small 
wooden dish, and soft bread placed around, which is dipped into the food by small bits. 
Spoons as a rule are not used, but the food is taken with the fingers if solid enough, and 
by dips if too fluid. They have however, wooden spoons, which they bring forth for 
distinguished visitors. On account of this method of taking the food the hands are 
always washed before meals. Early before daybreak the woman leaves the mill to 
bake the bread. In winter, when it is cold, the dough is prepared in the evening, and 
the leaven put in ; by daylight it is ready to be carried into the low-oven. This is heated 
with manure. A cone with an opening at the top is put in a small room, at the bottom 
of the cone are placed small stones, and a cover of clay like the cone itself is put on. 
The manure is lighted and left to heat for several hours — sometimes the whole night. 
"When the dough is well leavened, it is made into small loaves and laid on the heated 
stones, where it is baked in from ten minutes to a quarter of an hour. From these 
stones the bread of the Fellahin has always little pits helow and corresponding eleva- 
tions on the top. Bread is renewed every day, and sometimes twice a day. The Fel- 
lahin eat very much bread; it forms the most substantial part of the everyday meals. 
In the Lebanon the bread is generally baked on an iron tray after the dough has been 
spread out as thin as possible, and the fresh bread is put on the straw tray. 

They have usually three meals a day, breakfast, any time between eight o'clock 
and noon, consisting of bread alone, or olives, oil, eggs, fruit, milk, or butter, as the 
man may be possessor of olive gardens, vegetables, flocks, and so on. 

The dinner is more substantial, consisting, according to time of year and work, 
of boiled rice, broken wheat, lentils, or lentils and rice, with butter, vegetables, and so 
forth. Meat with the average Fellah is an exception. This is reserved for feast days. 

Supper in many cases is taken instead of dinner, as in harvest time when they are 
too far from home, or from the hut temporarily put up, where the woman prepares 
for their wants. In other cases it may be very much like the breakfast. 

During the fasting month of Ramadan the most substantial meal is ready by sun- 
set. The family gathers around, and as soon as the priest calls out "God is the Great- 
est," even." man, woman, and child put out their hands and, "naming God," stuff the 
food as eagerly as possible into their mouths. Meals as a rule are taken hastily and 
quietly: no talking, or exchanging ideas, or asking how the dish is prepared. Drink- 
ing, of course water only, is reserved to the end, and is in most cases a sign of sufficiency. 



206 



Woman in the East 



Therefore, in case a stranger may ask for water during the meal it is often refused, as 
this means ceasing to eat. It is also customary to say "Thank God," which means as 
much as "I have enough." The hands are now washed outside the room. The second 
meal in the night of Ramadan is taken early in the morning, soon after midnight, but 
is a very slight meal. As the Fellahin go to their work during daytime the nights 
are very quiet, save during the meal times. No running about and changing night 
into day as amongst the townspeople. 

During these nights the small oil lamps with which the rooms are lighted are kept 
burning, whilst all through the year the light is put out after the meals or evening 





THE HARVEST 

hours, and it is lit again during the morning hours, when the woman grinds. The oil 
is exclusively to be furnished by the woman, bought from her private earnings. These 
consist in eggs she may sell (the poultry always are the woman's property) or any- 
thing she may have gleaned during the harvest and sold at the next market. She may 
also have carried things to the market for someone else, for men never carry anything 
in the country. If they go to market they either hire a woman or take their own wives 
or daughters, or else load animals. These earnings all belong to the woman, except 
it be done for her husband, when she is expected to do it for nothing, although in most 
cases she may put away a part for herself. 

The woman, encouraged by all these small items, is often considered a stranger in 
the family to a certain degree. If she is energetic she can rule the house and command 



Woman ix the East 



207 



the husband iust as well as any Occidental woman may She is greatly venerated 
bv her children, but is not inseparably attached to the family of her husband. She 
never takes his name, and for the slightest offence she can be divorced, and though in 
this last case she has a right to claim a certain sum of money, lands of her husband can 
never be given to her. The Fellah considers his property as sacred, and if not abso- 
lutely forced to sell, he is ever ready to say like Xaboth to Ahab in Kings xxi. 3 : "The 
Lord forbid it me that I should give the inheritance of my fathers unto thee." Al- 
though in many cases Occidentals have bought lands from the Fellahin in Palestine, 
yet they are ever considered as temporary intruders. Even violation of the women 
is considered easier for them to bear than this encroachment on their lands. And thus 




GOIXG TO MARKET 



they have always been, whatever confession or religion they belonged to, from the 
Chanaanites of the time of Abraham, or later on. fighting the Israelites, then being con- 
verted to Judaism, fighting Greeks and Romans, and as Christians against Muhamma- 
dans, and converted to Muharnmadanism fighting the Crusaders. And now in modern 
times the Chanaanite of yore, transformed with very slight changes into the modern 
Fellah, still represents to the Bible student vividly the same type. Though the gen- 
eral duty of the Fellah woman consists in all that appertains to the household, including 
storage of wood for firing when it is to be had, or manure for the same purpose in the 
plains, she may often help her husband, or father, or brother in the labors of the field. 
This task being the chief occupation of the men, they derive their name from cultivat- 
ing: Fellah means cultivator. During the ploughing season she carries the food to the 



20S 



Woman in the East 



field, and if no animals be present may also carry the seed for sowing, break the clods if 
needs be, seconding her husband in gardening if he possesses watered lands, weeding, 
and so forth, but only after having hastily done the most necessary work at home. 
So also in harvest time she has to help cutting the corn, or driving the laden animals 
to the threshing floor, which may be many miles away, but always doing the easier 
work, just as women do all over the world. It has often been represented, in view of the 
Fellah woman's servitude and degraded position, both -in illustrations and descriptions, 
that she is yoked alongside with an ass or cow for ploughing, but I most emphatically 
protest against such fables, which have been seen perhaps in some other part of the 




GOING TO MARKET 



world and copied again and again by writers; and even up to this date modern writers 
unscrupulously have given it as a fact. 

Women may sometimes lead the newly-yoked animal to teach it to go in the 
direction wanted, or force a stubborn horse or mule to walk straight, and possibly this 
has been confounded with yoking. At all events the Fellah woman is certainly the 
busiest woman of the three types, as having her household duties and sharing her hus- 
band's work in the harvest, but she does not think so little of herself as the townswoman 
does, and certainly is esteemed by her husband a good deal more than is her sister in 
town. If the Fellah does not possess any corn land himself, or if the woman be a widow 
or orphan, she goes to glean behind the reapers, and often she gathers corn enough to 



Woman m the East 



JmM 



last all through the year if she is diligent, or if some modern Boaz — and the case may 
often present itself — allows a modern Ruth to go among the sheaves. In some wheat- 
producing districts, like the plain of Sharon and Philistia. the gleaners are so numerous, 
even surpassing the reapers in number, that often the owner has to hire a man to drive 
them back, which is a very arduous task. Sometimes such guardians of the glean- 
ers declare that they had to lay down their functions as being too sinful, for they had 
to curse and to swear a good deal more than is decent, in view of the blessing sent by 
God to all. 




A GLEAXER IX THE FIELD OF BOAZ 



After birth the midwife is responsible for the child during forty days. Imme- 
diately after biith the father is called in. and before the navel is cut he is to name the 
child, though in man}- places the}- are not particular about the time of naming. The 
child is rubbed all over with salt, water, and oil: tightly wrapped up so that it cannot 
move its limbs, and remains thus till it is seven days old. The midwife only then re- 
moves all dirty clothes or rags, and again rubs and washes, and wraps the baby for an- 
other seven days, and so on, till the fortieth day; when the child is finally washed in 
warm water, scaped, put in cleaner rags, and handed over to the responsibility of the 
mother. The babe is then put into a rccking-cradle. which every Fellah woman pos- 
sesses. Immediately after birth the news is carried to those interested. If it is a bov 



210 



Woman in the East 



all relatives assemble in the house on the very day of the birth ; a dinner is made for 
them by the father, and they drop money, every man according to his means, for the 
benefit of the boy. Of course the money is gathered and appropriated by the parents. 
When it is a girl the male relatives may give small sums of money, but are not expect- 
ed to do so, and the women of the neighborhood bring torches in the evening and oil 
cakes, singing the praise of the parents, and of the bride or bridegroom — as the new- 
born is styled; they also drop coins for the benefit of the girl, and these are put away 
and tacked on' the child later on. Friends or distant relations also bring a sacrifice, 
consisting of a lamb or goat, which is killed and eaten by the offerer and his own 
family and all present . 

The first person giving the news of a boy's birth to the father says: "Good news." 
"Something good, please God," says the father. "What will be my reward?" asks the 
news bringer. The father, having an inkling of what it may be, promises a certain 
sum of money, or some object that may please, as a handkerchief, cap., etc, according 
to his means. Either a son or daughter may be announced by calling the blessing on 
the bridegroom or bride: "Blessed be the bridegroom or bride." The father answers, 
if it is a boy: "May God bless you, or give you boys," or: "At your wedding" (rejoice); 
and if it is a girl he says the same, and may make an offer of the girl, saying: "Upon 
the choice of your hand." The other may accept, and say: "I have accepted," or 
decline by saying: "God bless you, Abu so and so." If the girl really is accepted, the 
betrothal is at once confirmed by bringing a sacrifice, over which the opening Koran 
chapter is read, and the terms of the marriage conditions settled; if this is not done, 
the acceptation is not ratified, though people of honor may not take back their word. 

Often the new-delivered woman is lying in the room, stowed away in a corner, 
whilst all the noisy guests squat about in a circle; the room is filled with smoke, and 
matters of all kinds are gravely discussed, the men smoking their pipes, the women 
quietly listening to their wise husbands, brothers, or whatever they may be. The 
traditional coffee is brought forth by the master of the mansion, and roasted in a pan 
on the wood fire in a corner of the room; as there are no chimneys, the smoke either 
goes out by the door or some small hole or window which the house may happen to 
have. The coffee beans, slightly brown are now pounded, always by a man; most 
generally this honorary task is performed by the eldest male. The coffee is now boiled, 
and, in two or three tiny cups, is handed round to the assembly by turns, beginning 
at the eldest or most honored visitor. When the first two or three have drunk they 
hand back the cups, saying: "May this endure" (the coffee drinking). The master 
answers: "By your voice." The cups are now filled again and given to the next, and 
so on, till all have partaken. Sometimes the midwife receives her cup too. For as a 
rule they are neither timid, nor do they hold themselves bound to honor the men more 
than is absolutely necessary. The sacrifice is prepared for dinner, and in a separate 
caldron rice is boiled and put before the assembly. All these dinners are prepared 
exclusively by men; the women may hand the wood for the fire, but nothing more. 
The women receive their portion when the men have eaten, if something is left. Not- 
withstanding this first feast (only for boys), distant relatives or friends bring a lamb or 
kid as soon as the news is known, but sometimes this may be done a whole year after. 
Nervousness is unknown by the Fellah woman, and she continues at work till the last 
moment. Although an exception, a woman has been known to carry a basket of 
cabbages to Bethlehem, three miles distant from her village ; on the way she was de- 
livered of a boy; without assistance, she rolled him in her huge sleeve, and continued 



Woman in the East 



211 



her way to the market. Having sold her cabbages, late in the afternoon, she walked 
home with the boy in her sleeve, without being troubled in the least. The girl given 
away as bride may be claimed by the bridegroom as soon as all the money is paid and 
conditions fulfilled. This may be when the child is six or seven years old, as also it 
may be many more years, till she is fifteen or more; but no Fellah girl remains un- 
married, no matter how ugly or even disfigured she may be. The sum paid may be less 
or more, but marry she will, this being the only aim in a Fellah girl's life. At the birth 
it is the bride that is blessed, so if she die young it is a bride who has died, and if she be 
wondered at for remaining long unmarried, no matter : "God guard her, she is a bride." 

Marriage is always preceded by the betrothal, which, as already stated, may be 
concluded at the birth. A price is fixed between the father of the bride and the father 
of the bridegroom; the mother, as a rule, has no word in the choice, but she influences 
her husband, and may even show tender feelings to her future son-in-law. In fact, 
when the betrothal is concluded, the bridegrooms are seen very much with the future 
mothers-in-law, herein wholly differing from the secluded townswomen. Again, a 
boy or girl may be in love with someone, but no further notice is taken, if some nearer of 
kin be fit to marry. Cousins have the first right to each other; sometimes they may 
pay less than should they be strangers, but in most cases the sum is as large, and in 
this case is spent again amongst the members of the family, the father always assum- 
ing to himself the lion's share. The price ma}" vary from a thousand to many thousands 
of piastres (a dollar is about thirty piastres), -so something near forty dollars is very 
much the lowest price for a girl, but in this case she must be a cousin. In all other 
cases not less than a hundred dollars is the price first paid. The betrothal is concluded 
by paying a certain amount and making a sacrifice of a lamb or goat, and reading the 
opening chapter of the Koran. As often as the bridegroom's father can do it, he pays 
a sum to the bride's father till the whole amount is paid. Ten or more years may thus 
pass in paying small sums; various causes — failure, poverty — may hinder anything 
being paid for many years, and as long as the last piastre remains unpaid the betrothal 
continues. 

Such relatives as may lawfully marry are, as above stated, preferred to any stranger 
no matter how wealthy he may be. These are considered unlawful: — The mother, 
sister, aunt (only father's sister), brother's or sister's daughter, wife's sister (the wife 
being alive and still the wife, for in a divorce case he may take the sister); neither 
may a man marry a mother and daughter at the same time. For the woman it is the 
same as for the other sex, except that she can never have two husbands. 

When all the money which the father has to receive is paid, the bride receives a 
part from her father, but as little as possible. The bridegroom has to bring bracelets 
of silver, rings, ear or nose rings, always according to his wealth ; the number is optional ; 
a bride may receive four or more bracelets, a dozen or more rings — generally very 
cheap silver rings with a square stone, red, brown, or blue. Besides these ornaments, 
clothes, consisting of a many -colored silk gown, silken girdle, and head cloth. Often 
he has to buy one for the mother or sister. Many male relatives also claim their por- 
tions, usually in the form of a silken gown. This custom we find repeatedly men- 
tioned in the Bible history. Joseph gave changes of garments to his brethren; Gehazi, 
servant of Elisha, ran after Naaman the Syrian, after his being healed from leprosy, to 
beg for garments; and at a wedding we find Samson, in Judges xiv. 12-20, promising 
changes of garments if they guess his riddle. 



212 



Woman in the East 



Eight days before the wedding, usually from the first quarter to full moon, invita- 
tions are sent round verbally, and the festivities begin. Coffee is made and handed 
round, water-pipes or narghilehs are handed to the smokers, the assembly gathering, 
if possible, on the flat housetop, the women on one side and the men on the other, each 
having their songs and dances separate. The opening songs are begun by the women. 
One generally sings four lines, slightly touching her mouth and taking the hand 
away whilst singing", then the ululation follows, and another woman says what she 
knows, always in the same four lines, and in the same tune: — 

The ululation is, in fact, one long note, with the tongue intervening whilst the sound 
proceeds. This is invariably the same by Townswomen, among Fellahs and Beda- 
win, and the most remarkable feature is that the words are alike, that is, they are not 
adapted to country or town, but more generally to the Bedawin life, and prove that 
the Arabs of Palestine at least were always influenced by the conquerors of Arabia, 
who came as Bedawin warriors. Many, if not all, of their songs are mingled with love 
and war and weapons. 

The men, in a melancholy way, have their all-in-a-row dance, which continues 
many hours during the night. Five men or more dance or simply lean backwards and 
forwards, right and left, without losing contact with each other. A leader facing them 
with a sword, pistol, or club, or only a handkerchief in his hand, sings before them 
whatever he may please; half of the dancers accompany him in the first line, and half 
in the second line. Every third note is accompanied by a clap, in which all join at 
once, the leader reproving and encouraging them all the time. He also shows them 
how to lean, when to bow, and they follow his movements as minutely as possible. 
After having repeated the same words six or more times, the leader passes to a new 
verse, now hardly bowing, now almost reaching the ground. When he does this, he 
produces guttural tones, kh-kh-kh — the same that are used to make a camel kneel 
down. The women, as seen above, have a merrier tone and a livelier dance. One or 
two dance in the middle of a circle, the whole of the dancers whirling round, now jump- 
ing with both feet at once and clapping hands, now joining each other's hands and 
whirling round. The singer in the middle, armed with a naked sword or pistol or 
handkerchief, which she swings, above her head as she sings a line, the others repeat- 
ing after her, something as follows: — 

We are the fair girls like opening roses, 
He is favored by his God who gathers and smells, 
He is blind and lame who a dark one chooses, 
Take a white one, thus your joy always tells. 

Oh goodly thy rings sound, and thou wilt be mine, 

The whiteness of thy breasts as snow doth shine, 

The horses are saddled, the men armed with the sword, 

The daughter of the liberal is asked for the son of the lord. 

Such and other songs continue, with occasional firing of guns and drinking of coffee 
every evening till the wedding day. The girls take a good deal of liberty, and sing 
the praises of those they may happen to love; but though here, and only here, courting 
is somewhat carried on, platonic-love marriages are the exception. A girl may be 
asked by her mother or father if such or such a person would be to her taste, but not 
as a rule. Flirting too, may be noticed, but the men are so strict about the reputa- 



Woman in the East 



213 



tion of their daughters or wives, that not even the legitimate bridegroom may be allowed 
to be alone with his bride, and should any serious consequences ensue, death alone can 
expiate. Girls more often are punished than men, as nothing can prove his guilt if 
the man deny. 

When a woman or girl is proved to have had illegitimate intercourse with any man 
she is secretly condemned to death by the family council, and the sentence is executed 
as soon and as quietly as possible; in the first place not to scare the woman, and in the 
second place to be ready for any denial if the government should try to intervene. 

A married woman, whose husband was in the army for several years, was 
warned by her brother-in-law that she had to die. It is stated that she calmly awaited 
her death. Taken to a far-away cave in the mountains, she was simply shot and 
thrown into the deep recesses of that cave; whilst the executioner, who as was stated, 
was the guilty person himself, coolly came and announced the death to the two minor 
children. The elder daughter, who had been brought up in a German mission school, 
went back to her native village able to read and write German and Arabic, and make 
different kinds of needlework, but very soon became as ignorant as if she had never 
spent seven or eight years in school. Again she was reclaimed by French sisters, 
became a Roman Catholic for two years, and then returned once more to her village 
to be married to her cousin as a Muhammadan. 

The wedding day finally arrives. All the women have put on their best clothes, 
and gather in the house of the bride, hands and nails dyed red with henna, their eyes 
painted black with kohl. The bride is attired in her best, laden with all her orna- 
ments, consisting chiefly of silver bracelets, silver rings, the chain for the head-gear, 
and the head-gear laden with her entire fortune; over her clothing a red silk gown is 
thrown, and a thick veil covers her face according to the great division to which they 
belong — the red veil for the Kese, and a red and white veil for the Yemeni. This 
division originated in Arabia among the northern and southern tribes, and is now 
carried on traditionally. Over her head is a crown with four upright black ostrich 
feathers. The veil being impenetrable, she is led out of the house and put on a camel, 
loaded with the bedding she receives from her father's house ; the camel kneels to receive 
the bride. The bedding she thus receives consists of one or more thick bed coverings 
made of common print in very bright colors, filled with wool and quilted together, 
several wool cushions, and a thick woolen carpet. The camel is now led towards the 
house of the bridegroom by some male relative, followed by all relatives and those 
invited — first the men, talking about any matter, then the women singing. They al- 
ways take the longest way possible towards her bridegroom, and if some open space 
be found about the village, all such as have horses go there, galloping round the bride, 
firing above her as often as possible. A group of young men gather round a musician 
having a double-barrelled flute, the Neie, playing monotonous airs, whilst the men 
clap their hands at regular intervals, and closely follow the bride. If the bride is des- 
tined to a neighboring village, the men of both sides are well armed, and ready to fight 
before giving over the bride; more or less bloody battles often occur, for everyone 
claims a share from the bridegroom, and if he be not as well armed as his adversaries, 
for they consider each other as such, he is obliged to pay according to weakness or 
wealth. 

The uncles, cousins, brothers, come first to claim either a red silk gown or a sum 
of money; next come the youths, who want a lamb or goat, known as the "Lads' 
sacrifice"; and finally the leader of the camel carrying the bride, who, too, receives a 



214 



Woman in the East 



dollar or two. When the procession has arrived at its destination, the camel is made 
to kneel down, and the sword which the bride held in her hand is now taken away and 
handed to the bridegroom awaiting at the house door. A jug of water is now placed 
on her head and she tries to enter without letting the bridegroom touch the jug, whilst 
he tries to throw it down with the sword. The jug represents complete submission, 
and her avoiding the breaking is a foreboding of her avoiding to obey blindly. She 
now steps into the house without touching the lintel, and she calls on the " Name of God" 
to prevent the Jan living there taking hold of her. Whatever she may have received, 
or what she may own, is carried by women in the procession, and put into the house. 
The veil is now taken off her face, and her face is embellished with gold and silver paper 




BRINGING HOME THE BRIDE 



stuck all over it. The sleeves of the bride and bridegroom are now tied together, 
whilst one sleeve of the bride is spread out across her like a sack. The invited all pass, 
and congratulate the new pair, at the same time pressing a coin to the forehead of the 
bride, and letting it go to fall into the sleeve below, saying: "This is in token of friend- 
ship to you or to so and so." The female relatives' keen eyes always detect the value 
of the coin dropped, and sing the praises of the giver. 

Whilst this is going on the men assemble and put up a shooting mark at a distance 
of from 60 to ico paces; he who hits the mark is lauded in songs of praise by the women. 

The religious part of the ceremony has passed unperceived to the uninitiated. 
During the procession, whilst some were galloping, firing, or disputing their portion, 
the mollah and bridegroom and nearest relative of the bride have gone aside, so far 



Woman in the East 



21.5 



away from indiscreet ears that nothing may be heard. In a low voice the mollah asks 
the bridegroom if he accepts so and so to be his female, and then, turning to the male 
representative of the bride, asks, if she accepts so and so to be her male; when both 
have assented, they lay their hands in each other's, and the mollah says the opening 
chapter of the Koran, and the two are legitimate man and wife. This mysterious sort 
of wedding is meant to avoid sorcerers or such as may be supposed to have a bad in- 
fluence or do any mischief. The folding of hands is avoided by everybody, as it may 
prevent future happiness; should a knot be tied fast during the ceremony, unless the 
person who tied the knot undoes it, no felicity can exist between the couple. There 




MUSICIANS IN MARRIAGE PROCESSION 



are supposed to be different ways to remove the difficulty, invented, it is useless to 
say, by cupidity, for it always costs something to find out the real source of mischief. 

Meanwhile some men are busy killing and cooking the lambs or goats — they have 
no special butchers, but every good and liberal man must be a butcher by experience. 
The meat is cut up into small pieces and put in water in large kettles and set on the 
fire; other caldrons with rice are set on, the women's only work being to hand wood, 
and bake the bread. The cooking takes from two to three hours. When it is ready 
the rice is piled upon the wooden dish or dishes according to the number of guests, 
and pieces of meat put on the rice. Six to twelve men now squat round each dish, 
and having called "on the Name of God," with their hands roll huge balls of rice and 
shove them into their mouths as fast as possible. In many places the feast-giver 



216 



Woman in the East 



distributes the pieces of meat to the guests, beginning with the hip-bone, and handing 
it over to the most esteemed guest, the next hip-bone to the second, then the breast, 
the thigh, the leg, and shoulder, and lastly the forearm, which must be broken and 
with an additional piece of meat handed to someone. If this forearm is given unbroken 
it is considered a great offense, and susceptible guests may leave the feast. So also 
care must be taken as to who is ranked first; and therefore in many cases, to get out 
of the dilemma, the feast-giver does not distribute any pieces, but leaves the distribu- 
tion to the guests themselves. It is considered as the worst offence to give the last 
rib with the cartilage adhering to it. The guests never gnaw the meat, but tear it off 
and eat it, and hand the remainder to some one belonging to the house, as it is not 
considered polite to eat all. 

But during all this part of the feast the women are almost ignored, and only re- 
ceive the remaining food. The head, feet, and interior parts are never put before the 
guests, but are always put away by the feast-giver's family, and eaten in the family 
circle next day. When a man has eaten enough, he says "Thank God!" and asks for 
water, which is only handed to him after he has been begged to continue eating. When 
he has drunk, he again says "Thank God! " and anyone present, sometimes all present, 
everyone in turn, tells him: "Be it wholesome"; and to each one he answers; "May 
God give you relish!" or something to that effect. Soap is now handed round, and 
a boy pours water on each one's hands; towels are unknown, each one wipes 
his hands, as it pleases him, on his mantle or handkerchief. After this, coffee 
again is handed round, and the guests disperse, each one thanking the owner of 
the house by saying: "Thanks to thee, house-owner," or "Thanks to the Father of 
Ehmad," or as the eldest son may happen to be called; whilst the feast-giver, apolo- 
gising for the nothingness of his feast, says: "Two healths and strength to your body, 
this is but one of my duties " ; the guest again says: " May God give you plenty of boys," 
and so on. 

On the days preceding the wedding a bard is often invited, and through long 
hours of the night, sometimes till morning, he sings to his one-string fiddle romances 
of war and love, and receives four or more dollars for such a night's entertainment. 
Riddles as at Samson's wedding are put forth, whilst the tobacco bag is handed to the 
smokers. The new-married couple are now left to themselves; but sometimes the 
female relatives of the bride remain a few days in charge of the bride's property, to 
see if everything goes on fair and square, especially if the bride be from another village. 
The bride will not take off her shoes till the bridegroom has bought this favor, by paying 
a dollar or more. 

In case of a widow's marriage, many ceremonies due only to maidens are omitted. 
A widow is not taken on camel-back, nor is she veiled; dancing should also be omitted, 
out of respect for the deceased husband; the dowry is generally less, and the festivities 
very short. In many cases a simple family invitation, a few hour's chanting by the 
women, and all is done. 

Second marriages are frequent, and if the bride be a maiden, the wedding cere- 
monies are the same as if she was the first wife. As all over the world, the women never 
agree for many days; the different wives are generally adversaries, as Peninnah and 
Hannah, Elkanah's wives, were (i Sam. i. 6). Therefore, two persons who agree very 
badly are called "like second wives"; the name they have for the wives to each other 
is most near to the expression "antagonist." Yet again another proverb says: "It 
is written on Heaven's gate, never a mother-in-law loves her daughter-in-law." 



Woman in the East 



217 



Muhammad provided for the peace of the family, where two wives exist, by keep- 
ing each one in a separate house. Where the man is wealthy enough to do so, the 
rule is followed, but in many cases it is impossible, and as a result such a house is cursed 
with eternal strife. The really wise therefore abstain from second marriages. The 
causes why second marriages occur are very numerous; amongst which can be named 
barrenness of one woman, or if she has only daughters, and so forth. Yet here the 
Fellah woman can influence her husband, either by paying him all possible attention 
and behaving towards him in a really loving way, or else, if this be not efficacious, 




BEDA.VI.Y FIDDLERS 



by threatening to abandon his house. This threat may be effectual for ever, or at 
least for a time. 

If the husband is not strongly influenced by his own male relatives, or if his wife 
has got him so far under her control, he will at times be consoled by the belief that it is 
thus God's will; for should God want to give him sons he might have such without 
resorting to a second marriage, and thus avoiding the expenses and the strife which 
he himself also fears. Also, he risks having girls again, and therefore the greater num- 
ber of Fellahin have only one wife, and are generally happy thus. 

The newly-married couple are the talk of the village for several days, the wedding 
criticised or praised till everyone is acquainted with the details. The woman's duty 
now begins; she has a family responsibility. Most of her doings have already been 
stated in this treatise. The water is always brought in by the woman, carrying 



218 Woman in the East 

the skin water-bag on her back, or else the earthenware jug on her head; a large jar 
is placed in a corner of the room, and the skin bottle is emptied into this. If the hus- 
band possesses a flock or cattle, the milking business is generally the work of the woman, 
aided by the shepherds; she dexterously holds the milk jug and one leg of the goat 
or sheep between her knees, and draws the milk from both teats alternately. If the 
village is near a town the woman carries the milk to clients, or for sale on the market, 
and, alas! here, as all the world over, this market milk is often doubled in quantity 
by water, and often whitened by an ingredient. Those villagers who frequent the 
towns are more corrupt and foul-mouthed than their more secluded country sisters; 
they are ready to swear "God and the prophets! " for the purity and freshness of their 
articles, no mater how far away from truth it may be. Where they have 
plenty of milk, the woman's chief work is to carry it daily into the market in small jugs. 
As the Arabs are very fond of sour milk, this is sold in every Arabic town. Half a 
dozen or more of such small jugs are put together in the wicker-work basket , and carried 
to the market on the head. The women are very dexterous in carrying loads on their 
heads and keeping them in equilibrium. Everything, except the babies and the skin 
water-bottle, is carried on their heads. If the milk is not sold in the town, on account 
of the distance, it is made into butter or cheese. The milk is put in a skin bottle, 
which is blown up with the liquid in it and tied up fast ; this is to give an empty space 
to facilitate the churning. The bottle is now suspended to three sticks attached to- 
gether and forming a coverless tent; the bottle is held by the woman sitting down 
and rocked to and fro for an hour or so till the butter is made. When a sufficient 
quantity of butter is made it is either sold fresh in the market by the woman, who takes 
every saleable thing, as hens, pigeons, eggs, milk, vegetables, to form a load worth the 
journey; or else it is stored away, either for home use, or to be sold as cooking butter. 
Samn is indispensable to the townspeople, and always fetches a good price. This is 
the butter cooked until no watery part remains, saffron being added to give it a yellow 
color. It is liked best thus, and keeps for months. If there is any very large quantity 
of samn it is put into skin bottles and sold in the bazaars by the men ; women always 
sell small quantities. When the butter is taken out, the skimmed milk is used as food 
by the members of the family. The skimmed milk is put into a sack, and after the 
water has dropped, the remaining substance is made into cakes, well salted, and put 
to dry in the sun. These small white cakes are sold when dry, and when no fresh sour 
milk can be had, or are used in the family. The}' resemble pebbles, and when wanted 
for food are put into a wooden basin with water and rubbed until they are dissolved. 
In this way the water dried out by the sun is again added, and the sour milk is eaten 
with almost the same relish as when it was fresh. 

The fig trees which belong to the family are put in charge of the women as soon as 
the first fruits begin to ripen. A hut is built in the fig garden, and the whole family 
remove to this hut during the summer months, not only from the villages but also 
from many minor towns, as Hebron, Gaza, Ramleh, Lydda, and others. The women 
daily gather the figs and put them to dry on red earth in the sun in a shut -up space to 
prevent the dogs, chickens, or children walking over or eating the fruit by day, and to 
keep away the jackals and foxes by night. This is certainly the happiest time in the 
year for the women and girls. With their loud rolling notes they sing from morning till 
night. Very often one girl sings a line, and another in the next garden one, or even 
across the valley on the slope of the opposite mountain, a girl continues the second line, 
and so on. The dried figs are stored away for winter food. In some places where they 



Woman in the East 



219 



have too many for the family use, they sell them in the markets of Jerusalem and 
Jaffa . Long garlands of dried figs are put on a string, weighing together seven or eight 
pounds. This is a specialty of some villages north of Jerusalem, as Bethel, Gibeon, 
Ramallah. Xazareth. and its villages. Es Salt is renowned for its figs and raisins. 

About November the olives begin to ripen, and though here the men have the more 
difficult task of taking or beating down the fruit , an active part is reserved to the women 
who whilst gathering the fruit from the ground, say or sing verses or repetitions of two 
lines, always repeated by one part of the workers whilst the other part take breath. 
"'Oh, olives, become citrons,"' i.e.. as big as citrons, is repeated a dozen or more times, 
then another sentence is said, till one of the party has hit a better idea; all the while 
the berries are gathered in the baskets, and thence into the goat's hair sack, never 
without calling on the "name of the Lord " to prevent the Jan eating part of the olives. 
The olives are taken to the oil mill by the men. as the village itself often has no mill. 
The first olives falling prematurely to the ground are gathered by the women alone, 
and are crushed on a flat rock with a stone, and then put in water to extract the oil ; 
this is the finest oil that can be had. This mode of beating the fruit is most primitive 
and ancient. Such oil Moses commanded the children of Israel, in Exodus xxvii. 20, 
to bring for the use of the light in the tabernacle; it is said there '"beaten oil," which 
answers we'l. 

From time to time the women and girls go together to bring home wood or what- 
ever fuel they can find. This is considered by most as a kind of picnic; they go singing 
up and down between the rocks and bushes, and everyone is busy gathering as big a 
bundle as she feels she can well carry home on her head, often many miles, for Palestine, 
and especially Judaea, is now quite denuded of forests — thorn, thyme, or sage bushes 
often being the only wood" they bring home. Whilst on their way home the moun- 
tains re-echo again and again with their merry voices: though to Occidentals' unac- 
customed ears it seems like wailing, still it is full of joy and life. They are quite free 
on these errands, as being almost the only time when they are (expected to be) quite 
abandoned to themselves and unobserved by any man. 

The songs here are often improvised on the existing tunes, sometimes they may be 
in connection with what is done, sometimes romantic adventures, princely honors; 
the load of wood is turned into costly presents, they themselves are turned into fairies, 
and so forth. The beloved comes forth to meet her (though he never does, in fact), 
and has a camel and slave to serve her. These all show how the present population 
have thoroughly changed in gallantry towards their women, which fives only in their 
poetry. 

Charcoal is seldom used by the Fellahin. If they are charcoal burners themselves 
the coals are taken to the towns for sale, where alone charcoal is burned. In the country 
they burn jexclusively wood or thorns for cooking, and manure for the ovens, whilst in 
towns wood or thorns are burned in ovens, and charcoal in the kitchen. 

As in the fig gardens, so also those possessing vineyards go to live there from the 
moment the grape berries begin to look like grapes, for the Arabs in general almost 
prefer the green unripe grapes to the ripe ones. Green grapes always find a ready 
market, being used either for dying wool, together with the necessary color, (the 
acid of the grapes fixes the color) or else they are sold for flavoring the food, or eaten 
raw. 

Hebron, a Muhammadan town, is all surrounded by vineyards, and the best 
Palestine grapes grow there. Here the townspeople become Fellahin during the sum- 



'J I'll 



Woman in the East 



mer. living in the vineyards, and are occupied all the time. Where the grapes are not 
sold to Jews or Christians of Jerusalem (in Hebron itself only Jews live besides the 
Muhammadans), the grapes when ripe are cooked in large kettles, after having been 
crushed in rock-cut reservoirs, from which the sweet juice flows into a second reser- 
voir, reminding us of the "brooks of honey'* mentioned by Job xx. 17. The juice 
gathered is boiled during several hours and the molasses is very much in re- 
quest amongst all classes of the population. The women's part in this work does not 
go beyond bringing the grapes and preparing the jars to receive the molasses 
and grape conserve. The merchants of Hebron go about from village to village sell- 
ing this grape treacle to the Fellahin, who put it away for the winter months. 

Life in the vineyards in the summer months is certainly a time when a good deal 
of care is done away with. It is pleasant living, fruits to eat, no house sweeping, and 
all kinds of housework reduced to the least. The second chapter of the Song of Solo- 
mon is. perhaps, the best example. It is like living amongst the Fellahin. feeling with 
them, to read it, and remark the details. The vines with the tender (unripe) grapes 
give a good smell. "Take heed of the foxes that destroy the vine ... a roe on 
the mountains of Bether." 

The author had certainly passed days and nights in the vineyards of Bether, 
where one often sees gazelles roaming about on the mountains. 

Where they keep bees, the women take an active part in harvesting the honey. 
A man is usually the bee-master for the whole district, having all the paraphernalia 
appertaining to bee-culture, consisting of a jar-bee-smoker, a mask, leather gloves and 
boots, and a large knife to cut out the comb. The cut out combs are handed over to 
the women, who press out the honey between their hands in a dark room, and with 
heaps of manure burning before the door to keep away the bees, which still may try 
to enter. The pressed out comb-balls, dripping with honey, are washed as clean as 
possible, the comb reduced to wax, whilst the sweet water of the washings is boiled, 
flour being added all the time, till the whole is almost as thick as honey. It is now 
poured on laid-out sheets, and left to dry for a day or two. Pine seeds are strewn on 
the paste as long as it is still warm and soft. This sweet, known as "malban," when 
dry has the appearance of very light -colored leather. It can easily be torn, and is either 
sold, or stored away for winter food. Usually it is eaten in winter-evening assemblies, 
after a game or story-telling. It is saleable only where the women are experts in manu- 
facturing it. Small bee-keepers keep it generally for family use. The crushed and 
pressed combs are put into sacks and boiled in water. The wax always finds a ready 
market. Pure wax candles are sold by the thousand in Jerusalem, about the Church 
of the Holy Sepulchre and the "Mosque. Those sold to Christians are ornamented with 
scenes of the passion, death, and resurrection of Christ; whilst Muhammadan pilgrims 
only buy such as have no images whatever. The Christian candles are many-colored, 
and the "Muhammadans' usually dirty white; and are offered in the sanctuaries as a 
vow for the recovery from sickness, deliverance from accidents, safe arrival home 
again after a long journey. 

The vow in the fashion of Samuel's mother's vow is not so usual — at least, not 
among the Muhammadans. Christians dedicate their children to such-and-such a 
saint. For example, a child may be dedicated to Saint Francis for a year or two — 
the boy then wears a monk's hood for the time; whilst Muhammadans and Christians 
vow to saints or prophets, in case of help, a quantity of wax candles, olive oil to burn 
in the sanctuary, or a sacrifice of a kid or lamb. Thus the person vowing may say: 



Woman in the East 



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"O evergreen Green One" (St. George of the Christians). " I offer you a lamb and two 
pounds of pure wax candles if thou savest me from this water," if in danger of being 
drowned. Or: " If thou savest my boy from the small-pox. O Prophet Reuben, I offer 
thee a lamb and three pounds of oil." These vows are made by both sexes alike, and 
are often fulfilled months or years afterwards ; as long as the person has the intention 
of holding his promise, there is no harm is putting it off till a favorable occasion. As 
thev are verv expensive, as many as possible of the friends and relations are invited. 

During the harvest the women pick out the best straws they can find, and bind 
them into bundles; in their leisure hours they make baskets, trays, and the like for the 
household furniture. Some of the straws are colored green or red, and symmetrically 
woven into the work, designed generally in curves or broken lines. Some are very 
dexterous in making these trays, and produce a certain quantity for sale, for the}* al- 
ways find a ready market. 

Almost every woman or girl gleans wheat or barley for her own benefit, if her 
time is not wholly taken up by her husband, or brother, or father. The gleaned bun- 
dles are nicely arranged, and put in a heap beside the other corn; on account of their 
being particularly fixed up and fast tied together, these bundles are easily recognized 
and respected by everyone. The women in their spare time knock out the grain with 
a stone, and store it away or sell it at once in the neighborhood of the threshing floor 
to travehng grain-merchants. If, as in many cases, the family be short of flour, she 
is supposed to lend them this grain for the time being for family use; but seldom, if 
ever, will she receive it back again if she does not take it by force. If she sells it, the 
money is attached to her head-dress, or, if a widow, lent out on interest, or used for her 
own wants. As already remarked, the woman's purse is quite separate from that 
of the whole family. In some cases, also, she will invest her money in live stock — 
sheep, goats, cows, or the like, which are a continual source of profit, as on no account 
will she pay an}~thing for stable rent or shepherd, unless the whole herd be her own. 
In this last case the husband benefits by the milk, cheese, butter, and a sacrifice from 
time to time. This arrangement is tolerated by the husband to a certain degree, 
as it discharges him of many obligations, such as paying the tax; for sheep and goats 
have to pay a Government tax of about 15 cents a head; besides, the husband is consid- 
ered poor, and unable to contribute to municipal wants, though he personally benefits 
to a great extent. 

Sacks of goats hair and carpets of wool, saddle-bags, baby-sacks (in which the 
women carry the babies on their backs when going on errands), and the like are all 
woven by the women; they are not all experts in this, but generally such as either pos- 
sess herds themselves, or whose husbands or next-of-kin are shepherds. The woman 
works at a fixed price per yard, and is generally fed by the party to whom the carpet 
belongs as long as the work lasts. The apparatus is of the most primitive kind. Most 
women and girls can spin, and they may be seen all about the towns spinning as they 
walk. A bundle of wool, or wool and hair, is rolled round the right arm, and the little 
distaff is spun continually on an uplifted knee as they walk along, thus spinning the 
threads for the future carpet or sack. The carpet manufacture itself is also very 
simple. Four pegs are driven into the ground at the proper distance, according to the 
quantity of thread ready, but seldom over a yard and a third in breadth, whilst the 
lengths may be many yards. Two thick sticks form the beginning and the end, fas- 
tened against the pegs mentioned. The threads are now drawn across from end to 
end and one touching the other, necessarily in an upper and a lower row. A flat piece 



222 



Woman in the East 



of wood several inches wide and well polished, usually of oak, is passed between the 
threads, dividing them or changing the position, pushing the upper down and the 
lower up. This shuttle is not always used ; the ball of thread is simply rolled in an oval 
shape, and thus passes to and fro. To fasten the cross-threads, the woman has a ga- 
zelle-horn, the point of which is slightly filed to form a hook, and thus pulls each thread 
backward into position. The operation takes less time to do than to describe in words, 
although, as the whole work is very long, it may take some weeks to make a carpet. 
As the work is always done in the open air, and must remain in position, a man gener- 
ally sleeps by it at night, to guard against mischief or thieves. The woman is only 
responsible by day ; she is never expected to watch by night . 

All the woman's earnings are her private property. Though in some cases her 
husband furnishes her with necessary clothing, in most cases she buys it herself. She 
has also to furnish the oil for lighting the house from her own money, and she knows 
well how to calculate what may belong to her husband and what to her. On return- 
ing from market the women sit down with their empty baskets, and square up the ac- 
counts before going to their homes. In her spare time the woman mends and also 
makes the clothes for herself, husband, and children. It is true it does not require 
much skill, as the whole consists in a kind of very large shirt with very wide sleeves; 
thus a few inches more or less do not matter, and the merchant of whom the shirting 
and sheeting are bought knows exactly how many yards are wanted for a suit. The 
men are all clothed in a white shirt or gown, which is for the most part of the year the 
only clothing they wear; towards winter a second gown, either yellow or red-striped, 
is worn. Women are always clothed in blue — a long blue shirt or gown of coarse sheet- 
ing, hanging down to the feet, and with very wide sleeves forms her e very-day clothing. 
Dirty clothes are generally carried to the nearest running water; sometimes this is 
far from the village, and where there are only wells, water must be drawn; but seldom 
are things washed with warm water. In houses where they have cows or camels a 
second hand-mill for breaking the vetches is to be found, and the woman also prepares 
these, which, after being broken, are slightly wet so as to render them soft, and 
when the camels or cows come home in the evening after a day's labor they find their 
supper awaiting them. 

The woman is called by her name and the name of her father; never does the name 
of the husband apply to the wife. Thus, if the woman's name be Fatme and her father's 
name Ali, she will be called Fatme 'Ali as long as she is without children; as soon as she 
has a child she will be called after the name of her eldest son or daughter if she have 
no son. If her son be Eh 'mad, she will be called Im Eh 'mad, that is "mother of Eh 'mad. 

This is the politest way of calling a woman; if she has no children she can even be 
called "Mother of Ali," her father's name. 

The training of the children is neglected. Boys are more left to their own free will 
than girls, and they are even taught to curse and to swear when they can only just pro- 
nounce the first words. As a matter of course, when only one boy is in the family he is the 
tyrant, and his will dominates over all. When there are more than one, and perhaps 
some girls, then necessarily the parents are more severe, and sometimes administer 
brutal correction; there is nothing like a kind, systematic bringing up. As with all 
illiterate people, amusement of some sort must be had, and the children naturally 
form one source of general amusement. They are considered most clever when they 
can abuse the bystanders or the squatters in the circle of visitors. No wonder, then, 
if the stranger riding through a village finds himself assailed by the younger generation, 



Woman in the East 



223 



cursing, and even throwing stones for nothing more than their own childish amuse- 
ment. This is rarelv done to Arab strangers, but is reserved for Occidentals, as these 
are considered in all Muhammadan countries, and more so in out-of-the-way places, to 
be mortal enemies. The boys and girls of six and ten years old keep the kids and lambs 
round about the village. When the girls are older, but not after puberty, they may 
also be shepherdesses, if the family have no boy. But after puberty a boy is taken, 
who may at the same time serve as shepherd for seven years and receive a girl for his 
wages, as Jacob did with Laban. Thus in a family where there are more boys than 
necessary for the wants of the family, one or two may be sent to serve outside; and 
villages which are near towns send their boys to work in the stone quarries or at mason's 
vards. Muhammadan girls are kept at home until they marry, but some villages near 
Jerusalem have begun to send their daughters as servant girls to the town. Amongst 
the Christian population of Bethlehem, Ramallah, and some other places, girls are 
regularly found in the houses of Occidentals as cooks, or the like. 

A servant girl from Bethlehem, staying as cook in a French hotel at Jaffa (illiterate, 
as they generally are), one day received a letter from her mother. The mother want- 
ed two wooden bowls and a trunk. The letter was worded thus : — 

"From Bethlehem to Jaffa. 

" 3rd November, 1891. 

"Eastern calender. 

"To the most honored and excellent lady the respected Catharina, God liveth 
and en dureth forever. Amen. ! 

"After having settled on the principal question, that is, your dear health and 
security, which is with us the essential cause of writing, and the occasion of our prayers; 
firstly, if your question about us be admitted, we are, God be praised, in perfect happi- 
ness, and do nothing but ask about you and the security of your health which is with us 
the essential cause of writing, and the occasion of prayer. Secondly, that you send 
to ask us why we never answer, seeing 'by the Almighty God' we have sent you four 
answers, two by the post and two by the camel drivers, nor do we know what is the 
matter that they never arrived. After that we assure you that we are continually 
pleased with you, and ask the Virgin the Mother of the Beloved, that you may soon be 
united with us, by the help of the Lord Christ. Then your brothers, Elias and Jirius, 
salute you with many salutations, and your sisters, Sultan)- and Maria, are in perfect 
health and salute you. You have sent to ask about the health of Joseph, your bro- 
ther's son; he is, God be praised, in all health and security, so you must not be troub- 
led at all. Also we ask of you, our beloved and honored daughter, to send us two 
wooden bowls, without mistake, by the kind camel driver, my contentment rest on 
you. I also announce to you that we have let the house to Aziz, the son of 'Otallah 
Ody, and he sends you salutations, and even Khaleel 'Otallah salutes you, and your 
brother, Elias, salutes you, and begs you to send him a Hungarian trunk, like the trunk 
of Tufaha, the daughter of your uncle, Jirius. For its price is from us, and when you 
will face us we will repay you its price. What we now want we have told you, and if 
you want anything tell us. God liveth and endureth! 

"Praying for you. In the honored, holy and blessed Nativity Church, Helwy. 

"The writer of these words, your uncle's son, Salamy, salutes you with many 
salutations, may you live and endure. 

"To be addressed to the esteemed and honored Mister Baseel, whose presence may 
it live. Jirius and Khaleel. 



224 Woman in the East 

" 'Otallah salute him, and from his hand to be rendered to the excellent lady the 
respected Catharina." 

On account of their going to European Christian schools many Christian villagers 
are brighter, cleaner, and more up to the times, though despised by the more austere 
Muhammadans, who either never go to any schools at all, or else go to the village schools, 
which have been instituted of late, and are intended to be obligatory under penalty 
of paying a certain sum for those who do not attend; this last object is never missed by 
the greedy officials, ever ready to take advantage of the slightest money-making 
occasion. A teacher is appointed to every village by the Government to oppose the 
various Christian schools. Months and months may pass ere this unfortunate 
schoolmaster receives his pay, but as the school children have' to furnish him with a 
certain quantity of bread and whatever they may happen to possess, he is at least kept 
from starving. 

In and about the house the countrywoman is more of a personality than her sister 
of the town. She has all the household affairs necessarily under her control, as the. 
husband is often absent for days and even weeks. Being never veiled like the towns- 
woman, she can step in and out freely, look after the animals, and to some extent give 
information to her husband, and at least strongly influence him in regard to his busi- 
ness with strangers. 

When visitors come the elder girls and wife are to keep aside, bringing only the 
food; but they never entertain male visitors. Female visitors are very rare, except on 
solemn occasions — as births, deaths, marriages, and in these cases they are received 
only by the women. 

When the children grow older, a boy of twelve or more is utterly out of his mother's 
control. Girls are influenced a few years longer, but obedience is next to unknown ; yet 
there exists a natural reciprocal dependence which makes the families very intimate, 
especially as regards the family interests. Thus a child of seven or eight will defend 
the family rights like a grown-up person among Occidentals. Their living in one room 
and assisting in all conversations explain how they are so soon versed in all family 
incidents, and can even keep secrets; for necessarily their bloody feuds often oblige 
them to have secrets. Even before a boy arrives at the age of puberty he may receive 
a turban, which he gets either when he marries, or even before, on a feast day. If the 
proud father, anxious to show off his offspring, hands him a turban, it is wonderful, 
if not amusing, to see the little man of ten or twelve years old squatting down gravely 
for the first time, seemingly conscious of the new era of life now dawning upon him. 

Then, also, the sexes separate in their play, which up to this first growing out of 
childhood had been in common. 

Still, brothers and sisters protect each other for the causes already mentioned: 
the family circle is holy, and every inmate is considered of one flesh. Therefore, 
also, the mother, though very much esteemed by her children, still, in family matters, 
may be wholly sacrificed for the sake of her family, who are perhaps on bad terms. 

When a person is reported to be seriously ill, the room is soon filled with noisy 
visitors — men, women, and children; if it is winter, a fire is made, filling the room with 
dense smoke, whilst all kinds or remedies are discussed by all and every one at a time, 
so that the person interested may hear a portion of this remark and a portion of that. 
Fresh visitors pour in, the others leave, and, in fact, such a sick room is easily recog- 
nized by its beehive appearance, where continually some are going and some are com- 
ing. They are not in the least sympathetic with the sick; they talk of his malady in 



Woman in the East 



225 



the harshest way, or draw him into their conversation, however disagreeable this may 
be, and coffee-drinking and pipe-smoking are continually indulged in. 

No matter how contagious the sickness, none refrain from visiting. They have 
sometimes doctors of their own, but generally this is the priest, who writes a few myster- 
ious nonsensical words, and may give this to the patient to swallow, or put under his 
pillow, and so forth. Barbers are the doctors in more serious cases, and they either 
give purgatives or bleed the patient. Yet, again, the national remedy is fire applied 
to any part of the body and in very different ways — either simply with burning lint, 
or with a red-hot iron or nail applied to the crown of the head, to the arm, temple, 
and so forth. Efficacious as the fire remedy may be in some cases — as, for instance, a 
venomous bite — yet they do not apply it then, as the} 7 believe the bite is burning already, 
and fire would make matters worse. Hygienic rules are still more difficult to 
be enforced, thus rendering the doctor's task difficult, if not impossible. Nature, 
as everywhere else, helps more surely and rapidly. Strained nerves are unknown, 
and so is punctuality. 

They are subject to the same ills as are foreigners, with this difference — that the 
foreigner more surely gets the intermittent fever and is harassed by it, whilst the 
indigenous inhabitants may sometimes escape from it, according to the position 
of the village, and the occupation, whether they stay at home, or are obliged to go to 
the low lands during the summer months. The plains of Sharon, Jezreel, and the 
Jordan Valley are terrible centres, especially the last-named. 

Many live, however, to an old age. as in northern climes. It has often been 
supposed that, as they really begin life so very much earlier than Occidentals, they 
die earlier too. But though they do not count their age, and if asked will reply : " God 
alone can know"; still the age can be discovered by periods which they point out. 
One sometimes sees very old people of eighty or ninety, and above. Thus it may be 
safe to say that the average is the same as everywhere else. Great events in Palestine 
history, which impressed themselves on the minds of the people are: — Buonaparte's 
war in 1798; the first Jerusalem revolt, 1820; Grecian wars. 1820-30; Egyptian invasion 
and government, 1830-40; Crimean war, 1855-58; Christian massacre in the Lebanon, 
i860; Locusts in 1866-67; and so forth. 

A Muslim of either sex when dying is turned with the face towards the Kibleh, 
i.e., where the religious feelings are concentrated at Mecca, and if any strength or pres- 
ence of mind be left, the dying person says: " I witness, that there is but one God, and 
that Muhammad is the prophet of God." Everybody present witnesses the same. 
As soon as he or she is dead, the mollah is called for a man, and the midwife for a woman. 
The corpse is wholly washed by one of the above named persons, with soap and water, 
the performer chanting slow and melancholy chants all the time: "There is but one 
God, and Muhammad is God's prophet. God! Prayer be to Him and salutation." 
As at the burial of Jesus, new shirting is bought, and when all the issues have been 
stopped with cotton, the corpse is wrapped in this shroud and wholly sewed up. No 
woman may look at the face of a man after his burial ablution, except such as could 
never have expected to marry him, that is, his mother, sister, or daughter. His own 
wife is divorced, either because he pronounced a divorce himself, or else by the fact 
of his death; in consequence, a look from her, who is now a marriageable woman, 
would be considered as adultery. The same applies to a man in the case of a deceased 
woman. When the body is washed it is clean and ready to enter into judgment. 



226 Woman in the East 

The body is always carried by men on a litter or in a carpet towards the mosque, 
where it is put down for awhile, the men chanting all the time in two parties : " There 
is but one God," &c; whilst one party chants, the other takes breath. When the 
body is put down, the whole assembly of men sit down round about in front, the women 
further off. The priest reads chapters of the Koran, and when this is done they take 
up the body, and proceed chanting to the cemetery. The women follow behind, crying 
and shouting and singing ; the next of kin and friends with dishevelled hair and no head- 
cloth on; the clothes are rent from top to almost bottom (but for decency's sake, as 
they have only this one on, they sew it up in large stitches, to show that it was rent). 
They put earth on the head, and sometimes their faces are blackened with soot. Though 
they are reproved occasionally by the men, and bade to be quiet, as it is sinful to mourn ; 
yet this goes on, the warnings or threatenings being unheeded. 

The grave is very shallow, the body is placed between two rows of large stones, 
and covered with flat stones above, thus forming a space in which the dead may move, 
if asked to do so after the burial is over. It is believed by Muhammadans that when 
the body is alone in the grave he or she awakes, and sits up, and says: "God! have I 
died?" Then they see two executors of justice — Nakir and Nekeer — armed with clubs, 
fiercely looking at the person. In front is Roman, the examining angel. He interro- 
gates about the good and bad deeds done during lifetime; of course, here is no denial, 
and for the good, Roman shows the most shining face and widens the grave, whilst 
for the wicked he shows an ugly face, and the grave becomes so narrow as to make the 
bones crack in crossing each other. For every bad deed, moreover, the executors 
give two stripes with all their might. Good deeds are almsgiving during lifetime, 
and all other virtues. After this examination the person lies down to die again, and 
the soul of the Muhammadan goes to the Well of Souls at Jerusalem, whilst the Chris- 
tians or Jews at once go to the devil, all awaiting the judgment day, which is to take 
place on the platform of Mount Moriah before the Temple. 

Whilst the grave is being prepared the priest and all the people sit down, the 
priest chanting all the while. The men are solemn, but the women now and then give 
vent to a shout, and are energetically called on to be quiet. "May God curse them," 
the men will say; nevertheless, this has no effect whatever on the women. As soon as 
the grave is covered all men embrace each other as a token of reconciliation for all 
wrongs they may have done each other. All male relatives are invited to a supper by 
one of the relatives of the departed, no matter whether the departed be man, woman, 
or child. The supper differs in nothing from a wedding supper, except that the women 
do not sing or dance ; yet it is not true that they are glad when a person dies, as has been 
represented by some writers. Some have pretended the joy to be on account of the 
supper to follow, yet again many are under the impression that the Muhammadans are 
glad when they have dead friends because they know them to be in Paradise. They 
really do believe that all true believers are admitted into eternal joy and luxury of all 
kinds, imagining their happiness as they expected it to have been on earth if 
wealth could have given it; but from this belief to joy for the departure of a dear 
person is a great way off, in spite of all their stoicism. An Arab proverb says: "A 
day on earth is worth more than one thousand below." This says more than heaps 
of commentaries. They also believe in purgatory. The pious go directly to Paradise, 
and generally such as die on Friday; but those that have done any deed needing ex- 
piation must suffer in the most cruel way for a time. 



Woman in the East 



227 



The day after the burial the women assemble early in the morning and go to the 
grave, there they wail, now quietly weeping for the dead, now with dishevelled hair 
jumping and dancing in a circle, holding each other's hands. From time to time 
they loose the hands, and while hopping strike themselves in the face with both hands 
at a time, three or four times in succession. Having wailed for the space of an hour 
they go home, to begin again the next morning, till the following Thursday. On this 
day oil-cakes are made and eaten at the cemetery by everyone present. Men never 
join in these wailings. Thus the wailing goes on seven consecutive Thursdays, or 
until the great Thursday of the dead, which is in Spring, about the Greek Easter. This 
duty-day is obligatory to everybody. Food of all kinds is carried to the tombs and 
eaten by every one. This practice is common to Christians and Muhammadans, towns- 
people and villagers. They carry the food according to wealth in greater or lesser 
quantities to be given to all present. The food is called "Mercy", and nobody is ex- 
pected to refuse. 

The women go about with rent garments for months, or even years, according 
to the degree of affliction. Some do not wash the white head-cloth as long as they are 
afflicted, others do not even wash their own faces. This last practice is the more strik- 
ing amongst the Christians of Bethlehem, because they are particularly careful about 
the cleanliness of their clothes, and the whiteness of the head-cloth. 

Muhammadan men never show by any outward and visible sign the real affliction 
caused by a death; all show is considered sinful, though some are as sorry as they can 
be. A young man had two wives, one very ugly, who had sons and daughters, but was 
not loved in spite of this. His second wife was beautiful, and had an only daughter. 
Being very pretty, this child was the pet of the family, at least the half of the family 
which was on the side of the beautiful wife. When the girl was about three years old 
she got the whooping cough and died. The disconsolate father was angry with Provi- 
dence, and thus expressed himself: "God left me my stupid, ugly son, but my good 
and wise daughter was too good for this world. I think the world is only made for the 
foolish to live in, the clever are taken away prematurely." 

Whether among Christians or Muhammadans, religious life does not extend beyond 
keeping the feasts and fasts, and in very rare cases also saying prayers. Application 
in practical life of any precept is almost unknown. And especially women, who con- 
sider themselves inferior to men, are convinced that as long as the men do not show 
by their deeds what a pure and holy life represents, women are exempt from every 
religious practice, or rather they do not think at all about it. 

Crimes, such as murder, theft of the burglarious order, or incest, are really con- 
sidered sinful, but outside this the everyday incidents — minor thefts, lying, and sland- 
ering — are not considered such crimes as can throw a shadow on a person's character. 

As already mentioned the feasts and fasts of Ramadan are kept by the women as 
well as by the men. Prayers are also said by a few. Two principal feasts are ob- 
served — the Thursday of the dead may be excepted, for this is considered a duty day. 

The feast of Bairam lasts for three days after the thirty days' fasting, when clothes 
are renewed. To the prayer everybody then comes in his best clothes. At this feast 
every head of a family kills a goat or sheep and eats it with his friends and relatives. 
The greeting on the feast days is: "May you be in peace (or present without in- 
firmity) every year"; and the answer: "And you, too, in peace"; this is exchanged 
by everybody. The women do not stretch out the bare hand, but cover it with their 
long sleeves, and bow down to kiss the hand of the man. 



228 



Woman in the East 



The second feast is held sixty-five days later. According to Muhammadan tra- 
dition, this is the feast held in commemoration of Abraham's sacrifice of his son Ish- 
mael on Moriah. The centre of the feasting is on Mount 'Arafat, near Mecca, whither 
thousands and thousands of sacrifices are brought by the pilgrims, and as every pil- 
grim brings a sacrifice, it is evident that a very small quantity of the meat can be 
eaten. Immeasurable heaps of meat are left to putrify and poison the whole neigh- 
borhood. Though the Government employs men to bury the remaining meat, and 
though a certain class of pilgrims from Central Africa and the Soudan remain there 
and dry the meat and live on it for a year, still it is not possible to destroy all the blood 
and skins and so forth, or to prevent the whole region being filled with pestiferous odour; 
and diseases of all kinds are carried home. into all countries inhabited by Islam. Dur- 
ing this great feast everyone at home also sacrifices, and portions of meat are sent to 
the relatives, usually to a daughter or sister married in another village. Olive twigs 
are stuck around the door-posts as a sign of peace, and the blood of the sacrifice is 
sprinkled on the posts and the lintel. The mollah, who is the only literate person in 
the village, reads chapters of the Koran before the whole assembly after having said 
prayers. Most of the features of this feast have evidently been handed down from 
generation to generation. The blood sprinkling dates as far back as the departure from 
Egypt. The sending of portions is found in Nehemiah, together with the reading of 
the law: 'Ezra then opened the book, and the people listened attentively, lifted up 
their hands and bowed their heads.' Just as, after the prayer, Nehemiah commanded 
the people to bring portions to them for whom nothing is prepared, the Fellahin carry 
the portions to all relatives and friends. The native Christians are called Naza- 
renes by the Muhammadans, whilst Europeans in general are called Franks. Those 
who have more to do with European and native Christians make this a marked differ- 
ence, but in out-of-the-way places, such as have no contact with strangers call all non- 
Muhammadans kufar or infidels. Their law leaves a margin for the Christian as long 
as he lives, i. e., he is not accursed by law, for he may convert himself on his death- 
bed, whilst the dead Christian is accursed, as having departed this life without passing 
into Islam. A Jew is accursed while alive, for a Jew can only become Muhammadan 
after having previously become a Christian, and then turning Muhammadan. Where- 
fore the Koran says: "Cursed be the dead of the Christians, and cursed be the Jews." 
The aversion Islam has towards images and pictures, with which most Christian 
churches are decorated, and to the cross surmounting religious edifices is a great ob- 
stacle against conversion to Christianity. But the most serious obstacle, besides the 
mystery of the Holy Trinity — as against their one God — and a single wife in marriage, 
is the rivalry of the different churches, and the manifold pitiful quarrels in which they 
are often engaged. 

The Fellahin have the same belief about the underground dwellers as the towns 
people. The Jinn lurk everywhere and take advantage of the forgetful housekeeper. 
In general the same ghosts and ogres are thought to exist as those in which towns- 
people believe. 

Shrines or tombs of prophets and saints are visited either on special feast days for 
the said saint, or to accomplish a vow as above described. The tomb of the prophet 
Moses, near the Dead Sea, and that of the prophet Reuben near the Mediterranean, 
south of Jaffa, are visited — the first in Passion week and the second in September. 

It is said: — When Moses was old, Ozrain, the Angel of Death, appeared to him and 
announced to him his death, but Moses entreated of him to allow him at least to say his 



Woman ix the East 



229 



pravers before death: Ozrain consented, and Moses asked him to wait awhile till he 
had performed his ablution. Having gone out, Moses went into the wilderness, and 
the Angel of Death lost sight of him. Six years went by, and Moses was still wander- 
ing away in a straight line from Jerusalem. Then he saw two men making a grave 
(thev were Ozrain and an angel), so Moses greeted them: "'Peace be with you," and they 
answered: "And to you peace."* "What are you about?" said Moses. "Well," 
answered the Angel of Death, "we are digging a grave for a man exactly of your stature, 
and as we lost his measure will you kindly descend and see if it is right?" Moses con- 
sented, and lay down. Ozrain asked him : "Are you comfortable on all sides? Is 
the grave wide enough?"' Moses answered in the affirmative. "Well then, please 
remain in. for you are the man." Moses begged for time to say a prayer, and gave his 
word of honor not to escape, and it was granted him. Moses now earnestly prayed to 
God and said: "Why am I to die so far away from Jerusalem in a wilderness, seeing 
this place is six years distant from Jerusalem, and there is neither sanctuary nor are 
there inhabitants?"" God said: "That is my business, henceforth nobody shall go 
to Mecca on pilgrimage, but shall visit thy tomb: the years' distance I will change 
into hours, and the very stones I will cause to become fuel." In fact God himself 
transported the tomb to a spot six hours" distant from Jerusalem, and as the region is 
desert, the stones were turned into bitumen. Thus pilgrims can perform their pil- 
grimage and burn this material. T 

When a ma n comes back from Mecca, or from some other journey, or has done his 
four or five years of military service, obligatory to all able-bodied men, the women 
meet "him singing, and though the ma n gives his hand to shake hands, a woman must 
always cover hers with the big sleeve, and kiss the man's hand. In busy places, as at 
Siloah, near Jerusalem, the men, women, and children lead something of a family life, 
as being absorbed in business on the one hand, and often secluded from obligatory 
causes, distance of houses, and so forth. The covering of the hand is because a woman 
is ever considered as unclean, and the bowing and kissing as a sign of inferiority. 
Among villagers no prefixes to names or titles are used, except for a mollah, dervish, 
or mayor of the village, who is invariably called Sheikh, whilst politeness bids the use 
of many terms. For elder men or women, uncle or aunt is used before the name, and 
for young persons of the same age "brother" or "sister" is prefixed, whilst for children 
or persons very much younger, "my son" or "my daughter" is prefixed. When they 
address townspeople or powerful Bedawin Sheikhs, they will address the men as "my 
lord" or the women as "my lad}"," as Abigail in her distress, when she saw David, 
lighted off her ass, and said: "Upon me, my lord, upon me let this iniquity be." 
Never may a woman respecting herself and the man she meets remain on the ass, 
but like Abigail must alight from any animal she is riding. 

On afternoons, when the principal work is done about the house and yard, the 
women of the quarter assemble together to chat about one thing or another, and more 
is often said than is necessary. 

The third type of Eastern woman is represented by the modern Bedawin woman, 
very probably unchanged through thousands of years. Just as Sarah, Abraham's 
wife, lived in tents about two thousand years before Christ, we meet the same way of 
hving amongst the nomads — a continual roaming about from the north to the south, 
from the east to the west. The tent is pitched where there is plenty of pasturage 
for the herds and camels, and where water is to be had. As Abraham and Lot had 
ma n y flocks and herds and tents, the land was not able to support them all, and thev 



230 



Woman in the East 



parted. The tribes also of the Bedawin live in definite districts, else there would be 
eternal strife among the herdsmen. Owing to this class being always either in the sun 
or in the black tents, they are always dark. 

A Bedawin settlement is composed of three or more tents, generally placed in a 
line or a square, according to number. When there are enough tents to form a square, 
a large space is left in the centre; the ropes of the tents cross each other, and close 
the camp all around, leaving only one entrance. 

The women are clothed in huge gowns or shirts of a very dark blue color; the 
sleeves are very long and wide, and the dresses are a good deal too long, so that the 
women trail their skirts far behind, or gather half of the length in front, hanging it 




BEDAWIN CAMP 

down from above the girdle. The head-cloth is all of the same stuff and color, wrapped 
round the head and hanging down on both sides. As if darkness would not be made 
complete by the dark clothes, sunburnt faces, and black tents, they are very often 
tattooed in dark blue round the mouth, and often the lips are deeply tinged with blue. 

Certainly this class is the most purely original race, into which no foreign blood 
has been admitted, as among the townspeople and Fellahin; for they are, in spite of 
their roaming life, most scrupulous about their pedigree. Intermarriage with Fellahin 
is rare, and if in some tribes strangers are admitted, still they are partially discarded, 
or the next marriage is again concluded with a stranger. 

The tent is always long, in most cases the whole front side open, and usually to- 
wards the east. They call the tents "hair-houses," as they are made of goats' hair, 
spun and woven by the women themselves in long strips not over a yard in breadth, 



"Woman ix the East 



231 



and when sufficient pieces are ready they are sewn together with thick hair-threads. 
The tent is pitched on one central pole, the two side poles north and south — the fore 
and the hind foot. For the common Bedawin there is a single tent, in which all live 
together; but the more wealthy have the tent divided by a separation of the same stuff, 
marking off what is called the me'hram or woman's apartment, into which men are not 
allowed to go. The separation itself is called m'enad. When guests are announced 
they go to separate guests' tents, if the encampment is considerable enough to have such ; 
but if only a few tents form the whole encampment, the guests are received in the tent 
proper, whilst the women go into the secluded part. Long ropes are bound to 
all pole-tops except the central one. and pegs are driven into the ground at some 
distance in proper proportion. Owing to the constant moving, the narrow space, and 
the few wants, the "house of hair" is never over-filled with useless articles. 

Necessarily the household furniture is reduced to such articles as are strictly 
wanted. Mats or carpets are to be found in every tent, as these are of prime necessity, 
forming the bedding (for they cannot sleep on mother earth, though they are not very 
far above it), and a few cushions and covers complete the bedroom articles. As with 
the townspeople and peasants, these articles are rolled up and put away during day- 
time, being spread out only in case visitors of importance come to the tents. The skin 
water-bottle is one of the most precious articles to be found in the house. As the 
regions in which they encamp are generally devoid of trees and bushes, the warmest 
part of the country is chosen in winter, away from water, and in summer a slight ele- 
vation, but always in desolate places, or least where there are no villages. The water 
is very often miles away, and the women can be seen toiling home carrying the water 
either on their own backs or on the backs of their donkeys. In Palestine the Bedawin 
women wear a heavy black veil covering the nose and mouth and hanging down in 
front, so that only the eyes can be seen sparkling, black, and piercing, with their dis- 
dainful looks. Xext in importance to the bottle is the wooden bowl to make the dough ; 
the tanned goat or kid skin, sewed up sack fashion, to hold the flour; and the inevitable 
hand-mill to grind the corn. A few kitchen utensils, a small pot or two and a wooden 
ladle, or sometimes an iron pan. complete the household furniture. Everything apper- 
taining to coffee-making is owned by the whole settlement. It is usually in the house 
of the Sheikh, or else in the guests' tent, and goes round according as this one or that, 
one ma\' want the whole set. The grain stored away, which some half -agricultural 
tribes may possess, is put in pits in some isolated, out-of-the-way spot where no stranger 
will ever venture, as the whole region is considered something like the private property 
of the tribe, and loafers are not admitted. Thus thefts are very rare. Small quanti- 
ties of grain, flour, cheese, and butter are always in the house under absolute control 
of the woman. The baby is generally in a home-made hammock hanging across the 
tent from the front to the back pole, and when the mother moves or goes on an errand 
the baby is carried in its hammock on her back. A circular concave pan, without 
handles, is used to bake the bread on, the hollow side turned to the fire, which is built 
up in front of the tent between two stones, usually in such a place as is out of the way 
of the prevailing winds, to prevent the smoke filling the tent. During rains or bad 
weather the whole family huddle around a central fire, and this is the most uncom- 
fortable time in the Bedawin life. As most Bedawin live in the deserts, they retire 
as far south as possible, to avoid rigorous winters, or to have the least possible rain. 
Those of the mountainous districts of Jerusalem — that is. those in the desert of Judaea — 
go towards the Dead Sea district after having ploughed and sowed their lands. The 



232 



Wo MAX IN THE EAST 



women always have their poultry-yards, and when they are about to start they bind 
the chickens' feet the night before leaving, and on the journey these are either simply 
laid across the loads on donkeys or camels, or else the women carry them in a wicker- 
work basket on the head. When the tent is pitched, a small furrow is dug all round, 
to prevent the rain running in. 

The donkeys, cows, and dogs are almost always left to the women to look after, 
and when the donkeys and cows are driven out to pasture they are kept by the smaller 
girls and boys. The dogs always remain by their mistresses, who never forget to feed 
them with whatever they may have themselves, either dry bread, or a bit of bread and 




COOKING BREAD ON THE SAJ 

butter, or the remains of some milk. After supper to strangers the bones are preserved 
for the dogs, who have always names, such as "Lion of the Night," "Young Pigeon," 
"Peacock," "Tiger," and so on. 

The further away from towns the fewer wants, and the less to do. When they live 
near towns, as in the plain of Sharon, where Jaffa and Gaza can be reached very easily, 
and where minor towns also require many requisites which they themselves do not 
produce, they find ready sale for those products they may have, such as milk, cheese, 
butter, chickens, and eggs, or, in harvest-time, grain. As with the Fellahm, so also 
with the Bedawin, it is the women who carry the articles to market, and bring back 
sweets or cloth for their dress. 



Wo max ix the East 



233 



In the far away desert the Bedawin seldom, if ever, allow their women to come to 
towns : most of those of the southern tribes have never so much as seen villagers 
except chance travelers as they pass along the road. 

The Bedawiveh. as well as the townswoman and the Fallaha. has her duties, though 
on a smaller scale than the two others. Still she has to look to everything concerning 
the household, and as a mother to bring up her children, no matter how small this duty 
mav be: for in early life, when the children can run, they are either almost or quite 
naked by day. so that the mother has neither mending nor sewing to do. Of course 
this is not the case in the winter months, neither can it be applied to all children, for 
the babies all have diapers and all kinds of rags, and as long as they cannot run and 
warm themselves haA*e to be kept warm by some kind of clothing, whilst the grown-up 
children must be decently clothed, be they boys or girls. Here also the girls are sent 
out as shepherdesses, but never out of the fa mil y. The clothing of the women is not 
adapted to very active work, like the clothes of the townswomen; the Bedawiveh loses 
herself in cumbersome wrappings and windings. In the first place, the whole dress 
is verv wide, a girdle holds it in position round the waist, but the rest comes out and 
dangles about on all sides. The sleeves can be turned round the body several times, 
the head-cloth hangs down to a considerable distance after having been twisted round 
the head. The thick black veil, as already mentioned, is ornamented with coins hang- 
ing all round the edge, at the same time holding the lower part of the veil in position, 
as it is otherwise loose at its lower part. The top is fixed in the middle by a thread or 
bead-row going up between the eyes and tied to the plaits of the hair behind, and also 
to the right and left behind the ears like spectacles; and it is fastened behind the head. 
Enormous eairings of silver, which are in reality attached to the head-gear, and in 
nowise touch the ear, encircle the ears and hang down almost to the shoulders. Xose- 
rings, bracelets, finger rings, as well as rows of coins, hang on the head. Such cumber- 
some every -day clothing is not fitted for work, like that of the Fallaha. who can tuck 
up her clothes to the knees and, with bare legs, go to work. The Bedawy woman is 
hardly ever in a hurry, sweeping the way as she moves slowly, or is seen stretching 
about the floor in her tent in search of one or other of the house articles which she may 
want, all these being very" close together, so that she has hardly ever to get up to fetch 
them. Her duty depends on the work of her husband; if they are half agricultural 
Bedawin, naturally enough a good deal more of work falls also to the woman, and in 
many things her general duty does not differ from that of her Fellah sister. But where 
the Bedawin are of the robber or herdsmen tribes the woman has hardly anything 
to do out of the tent, except fetching the water, or washing; which last is very much 
simplified on account of the color of the clothes, and also because the clothes are very 
little soiled when there is little work to perform. The women as they advance in age 
generally smoke and drink coffee, and try to emancipate themselves; this is very true 
of widows. Bedawin women are very fond of the soot adhering to the inside of to- 
bacco-pipe stems, they push in a long straw and suck off the soot, using it very much as 
tobacco is used in chewing. Also they practice chewing gum. The Bedawin of some 
northern districts use no veils, but have their faces simply framed round about with 
the dark head-cloth. 

The marriage customs of the Bedawin very much resemble those of the Fellahin. 
but there are some differences. The girl among them also is never consulted about the 
man she is to take, but she has simply to obey the head of the familv, whilst a widow 
may either accept or refuse the proposed husband. 



234 



AVOMAN IN THE EAST 



The men do not, as with the townspeople and villagers, accompany the bride in 
procession; the women only accompany her to the tent of her bridegroom. As the 
Bedawin generally have no priests of their own, the religious part is wholly omitted. 
Having agreed as to the price and received the greatest part, on the day of the wedding 
the father of the bride and the bridegroom perch on stones, and the father, presenting 
a straw to the bridegroom, says: " Did you accept my daughter? " The bridegroom, 
holding the straw, says: "I did." x\gain the father presents the straw and says: 
"By God's and his prophet's year?" The bridegroom, holding the straw, represent- 
ing the season , answers : "Yes, may she be blessed," and he takes the straw, and 
sticking it into his head-dress, the marriage knot is tied. 

Second marriages and divorces are just as easily managed as with others. And 
the same style of songs are sung; it is very likely even that most of the songs are of 
Bedawin origin. The women also sing in the name of the bridegroom — : 

O charmer! a precious girdle is always around you, 

Wind me, too, about you, my charming one, seven or eight turns. 

Good people, should I die, in the house let me be buried, 

Beside her I'll rest as a martyr, and be saved from the fire (of hell). 

girl! with the big earrings, 
With the long, trailing clothes, 

Take away your girdle and sleep quietly, 

1 am watching the enemy, for you there is no fear. 

The eyes are also blackened with kohl, as with the others, and the feast and songs 
and firing are carried on. The bride remains seven days hid in the tent, and she may 
not pass over runing water, which would carry away her progeny, if ever she has any. 

Though the Bedawin themselves will not admit that love-making or flirtation 
is easy to be carried on in the wide open plain, seeing that every movement can be 
observed by the whole camp, yet one is inclined to think that they find ways and times 
to manifest their preference. Lovemaking like that of Occidentals, is prohibited; still, 
as has been repeatedly mentioned, cases of real love are met with, and especially among 
the Bedawin, whose open-air life and contemplation of Nature give them more poetic 
feelings than those of the ever- shut -up Madam yeh, expecting to be surprised with the 
veil off at the turning of any corner, or of the ever-busy Fallah, too much occupied 
with her continual duties. The Bedawiyeh has a far better hiding place than the others, 
it is just the endless space open to all sides which is free to her as well as to her lover, 
if she have one, and the shadows of night kindly draw a veil all round, and shut 
out indiscreet eyes, and the darker the night the easier the excuse. For the towns- 
woman has nothing to seek out of her house, and cannot without suspicion go out into 
the street; and the Fallaha, though less watched than the townswoman, is known all 
about the village, and as the smallest village has streets, she or her lover may be met, 
even though it be night. But not so with the Bedawiyeh; outside the camp is the end- 
less plain, without streets, and consequently with a good deal less chance of being sur- 
prised. 

If family prejudices or other causes hinder an alliance, and the couple be too deeply 
attached to each other, they plan an escape. The elopement happens either in the 
evening or before daylight, the lover leading the way, but usually a mile or so ahead 
for safety. For if the pair were caught together one or both might be killed before 
even having been given time for justification, but if they are separate, they can deny 



Woman in the East 



235 



having anything to do with one another, and, should Bedawin justice be appealed to, 
no punishment can be inflicted on either of the two if they have not been taken in a 
very intimate moment, and this has to be witnessed by at least two trustworthy wit- 
nesses. An elopement, therefore, is a very risky act. Should they succeed in their 
plans, they pass by the next tribe or go round hiding, if possible, by daylight, and pro- 
ceeding only by night, as the pursuers are sure to be on the road , and before they have 
settled in some tribe they may be overtaken and mishandled. But when they have 
journeyed during two or three nights they come into a camp and declare themselves 
man and wife, and beg hospitality. The Bedawin always accept new settlers, especially 




BEDAWIN WARRIORS 



full-grown men, as they are an increase. of strength for war, though war may not be 
projected, nor even probable for years to come. The Bedawin live continually ready 
for an emergency, and no able men of the tribe, or stranger that is within the gates, 
will shrink if the least danger is threatening. The number of armed men in a camp 
or tribe is always considered, and the more the armed men, the surer the prospect of 
peace, unless by increase they become themselves the aggressors. When a year or 
more has passed since the elopement, and the parents have found out the retreat of the 
enamoured couple, they may send messengers to try and bring them back again, after 
consenting to the marriage and declaring it lawful. The parents of the man pay a 
certain sum, generally less than the price would have been — somewhere between eighty 



236 



Woman in the East 



and one hundred dollars — a number of silk gowns are given to the male relatives, and 
an atonement sacrifice is eaten, both parties swearing they are contented. Thus the 
couple may timidly return. Yet in most cases they will not accept any reconciliation. 
Neither the deeply humiliated family of the woman, who will swear not to rest till 
blood has washed away the family stain, nor the man himself, who, though they may 
swear forgiveness to him and make brotherhood with him, is never sure of his life, as 




BEDAWTN OF MOAB 



the family may be very great, and one or other of the relatives may not have been 
present at the reconciliation, and consequently be free not to recognize the forgiveness. 
It is wiser never to come back, 

Just as with the Fellahm, the Bedawin woman is not allowed illegitimate friend- 
ship with any man, under penalty of death. Although Bedawin law does not allow a 
man to be killed for simple suspicion , yet if a woman should denounce a simple attempt 
on the part of any man, the consequences are terrible. A woman of the Tarabeen 
Bedawin was attacked by Tayaha Bedawin ; the consequence was a conflagration among 



Woman in the East 



237 



all the tribes, many years' war and numberless dead, and the Government had to 
interfere to separate the belligerents. 

On October 20th, 1888, a girl of the Ta'amry Bedawin went out into the fields 
gathering wood; two young men of the village of Bethfajar, in whose neighborhood 
the camp was set up, met her in the field, and tried to abuse her. The girl shrieking 
at the top of her voice, rushed into the camp, shouting: "To arms! Your honor is 
soiled; in daytime your girls are violated!" Without losing a moment all the men 
sprang to their arms, and after rapid examination, in a body went against the village, 
carrying off everything that belonged to the whole family, of whom four men were 
severely wounded in their precipitate retreat. Herds, flocks, camels, and donkeys were 
driven away, every portable object carried off; others were destroyed, and the Bedawin 
retreated in triumph, living for the next few weeks on the stolen herds. The quarrel 
was not arranged till the Government had sent out soldiers, and after having 
made the Bedawin surrender what was left of their booty, took the two young men to 
Jerusalem to imprison them, and in the course of time to be judged guilty or set free. 
The almighty Mejidi (in lieu of the dollars) arranges most differences with the Gov- 
ernment officials, and the accused, often enough innocent, are imprisoned; twenty 
times for one the real culprits escape any punishment at all. 

They rear their children thus : when the baby is quite young it is exposed during 
forty days to sunshine, with its eyes heavenwards, which is said to fortify eyesight 
for ever. If it cannot stand this treatment it is not fit for this hard life, though they 
do not add this last sentence; yet there is a kind of selected breeding, on the principles 
of the Spartan laws and the natural laws of the "survival of the fittest." Where the 
tribe is of an agricultural turn of mind, the boys at an early age are shepherds, or help 
the parents in tilling the ground, whilst, where they are not agricultural, hunting and 
robbing are learnt. The Bedawin disdain the "dirty Fellah" and the "pale towns- 
men" as profoundly as one creature can disdain another. They are exceedingly proud, 
and the women are as shy towards strangers as those of the towns. 

Badawy means "desert man"; and of this name they are as proud as Baron or 
Count in Europe of his descent. Being always out in the open air, or under the light 
tent, they fear buildings as if they were ever on the eve of falling. They dread towns 
and government, being independent; though laws of their own regulate the discipline 
of the tribe. Of course this applies to them in their tribes — their hand being against 
every man, and every man's hand against them, just as was promised to their fore- 
father Ishmael; so it is natural that they should avoid buildings, or even sleeping in 
unknown places. 

Though filthy in many ways, still they are clean in their customs if compared 
with the Fellahin, who have generally water at their disposal, which is very often miles 
away from the Bedawin camp. The camp is moved when it has become full of fleas; 
sometimes they move away not more than a mile, in many cases they move many miles, 
except in regions where they have not much space, and where the tribe is very small. 
For around all sea-coast towns of Palestine and Syria — from Gaza in the south, by 
Jaffa, Ramleh, Lydda, Csesarea, Haifa, and Acre, in the Carmel Bay, Tyre, Sidon, and 
to Beyrout, in the north — there are small tribes of minor importance who call them- 
selves Bedawin, having mostly Bedawin customs, living in tents, because this exempts 
them from military life. They do not wear the turban, but the flying head-cloth, held 
to the head by a double cord so characteristic of the Bedawin. Yet they have lands 
which they cultivate either in shares with some proprietor of the town or some saint, 



238 



Woman in the East 



and they have droves of cows and buffaloes, which wallow in the swamps of the rivers, 
and are almost as savage as their Bedawin lords. 

The greater tribes are generally very little under Government control, and roam 
about the plain of Jezreel in the centre of Palestine, retreating towards Gilead and 
Bashan in case of need; others have all the northern Syrian desert from Damascus to 
Bagdad; some occupy the east of Jordan plains and mountains of Moab and Ammon, 
and are the terror of all southern Palestine. The Tayaha and the Terabeen of the 
Sinaitic peninsula would never have been under the Turkish rule, few as they are, 
had they not disagreed among themselves, and carried on petty wars for a number of 
years. 

Some of the women of these tribes, especially in the north, who flock to the 
markets, have more gaudy dresses, and many have done away with the veil, so 
strictly bidden by their primitive laws. High red boots may also be seen amongst 
some. Especially amongst the Bedawin women are tattoo marks yet to be 
seen on the face, though, as already remarked, other classes also have this custom. 
The face is marked with divers figures, lines, &c, tattooed in blue. These markings 
are as old as history, for in Leviticus xix. 28, we read: "Ye shall not make any cuttings 
in your flesh for the dead, nor print any marks upon you." Prohibited to the Jews, 
the practice was carried on by the nations all around. Judaism could not crush 
those old customs. On the other hand, as they are allowed by the more tolerant 
Islam, their minutest details have been maintained side by side with the three great 
religions of Palestine proper — Judaism, Christianity, and Islam. Illiterate generally, 
the Bedawin probably followed more or less indifferently the prevailing religion, as 
it benefited their commerce or simply suited their convenience. And none of these 
creeds have ever really influenced them in the least. They were friends and foes 
with the Chanaanites, had several wives like Abraham, when they could afford it, kept 
herds, and were hunters or robbers. During the heroic age of the Maccabees they 
became as Jews but continued to talk Arabic, sometimes became Christians in the 
latter years of the Byzantine empire, and subsequently fervent defenders of Islam 
during several centuries. The exploits of the wild crusader, Renaud de Chatillon, 
made them change the name only. As Christians they still went on robbing and 
killing, wearing ever the same style of dress; always fond of horses and arms, while 
the coat-of-mail of the Crusaders was very attractive to them; and when Islam was 
lord again they again became Muhammadans. They pray and even fast sometimes, 
like other Muhammadans, but the further away from towns the less they observe any 
religious rites at all. Superstitious as all others, they believe more in signs and tra- 
ditions than in actual religious laws and ordinances. In fact, they care very little 
even for Muhammadan religion, to which most of them now claim to belong, a very 
few beyond the Jordan excepted, who belong to the Greek Church. They have their 
saints and prophets, and it is usually round the tombs of these that they have their 
cemeteries. 

Rachel's tomb near Bethlehem, for example, is the burial ground of the Ta'amry 
Bedawin of the wilderness of Judaea, and when a person dies, no matter how far away, 
sometimes near the Dead Sea, a distance of more than twenty miles, the dead person 
is transported on camelback, hanging in a carpet on one side, whilst earth in a sack 
forms the counter-balance on the other. The Bedawin of the plains of Philistia trans- 
port their dead to near the shrine of the Prophet Saleh, near Ramleh. The burial and 
mourning do not differ from those of the other classes; but on account of distance 



Woman in the East 



239 



thev cannot visit the tombs on Thursdays, and instead visit them occasionally, when 
they pass near by chance, and if possible on the Thursday of the dead. In some tribes 
it is customarv for the women to cut a tress of their hair and fix it on the tomb, as a 
token of love for the departed. The tombs are not tended with the same care as those 
of the townspeople, who sometimes have inscriptions cut, and plant trees or flowers in 
their cemeteries; but neither the Fellahm nor the Bedawin plant flowers on their graves, 
excepting those who frequently mix with townspeople. 

Very generally speaking the Bedawin women are the liveliest and quickest of the 
three classes of native women. The townswoman with her slow aristocratic walk, 
as thev call it, looks with disdain on the European or American lady walking quickly, 
"like a servant in a hurry." 

Wild and rude as they may be, it is but fair to say that womankind, even among 
the sands and thorn-bushes of the Jordan valley, have a kinder feeling than men. 

That when women choose to rule, they well know how, is true of the Bedawin 
woman as well as of any other; and perhaps to some degree she is more imperious than 
any other woman in Islam. 

An old Bedawin woman in the plain of Jericho was a widow and had an only son, 
aged about 22. The young man, Muhammad-et-Talak, had to arrange the con- 
tracts and so on in Jerusalem; yet at home his mother wholly commanded him. And 
even before strangers she beat him and scolded him till he simply cried, and contrary 
to the habits of the Fellahm, said: "She is my mother, and I have to obey her, and 
receive her chastisement." Im-Muhammad, the old woman, would sit down, without 
a veil, smoking her big pipe, and giving orders, at the same time emphatically striking 
the ground with her pipe, as much as to say : " So will I have it." And when the young 
man one day showed impatience, she told him: "Sure, you chicken, I shall retreat to 
the mountains, and see what will become of you." On such occasions he again be- 
came quite tame, and promised to follow her instructions. 

Another Bedawin widow, in the plain of Philistia, was very wealthy, possessing 
300 or 400 cows; this fact alone gave her superiority, and everything regarding the 
community was discussed with her , and even to a certain degree had to be ratified by 
her. She built no stables for her cattle, to protect them against thieves or rain or the 
heat of the sun. Of thieves she was not afraid. As for the rain she thought that 
was God's will; and besides, building expenses were too great, no matter how 
primitive the building might be. A heavy rain swept over the camp and the whole 
region, and in that very night she is said to have lost three -fourths of her cattle. 
Stoically she bore this loss, and like the Bedawin Job, hearing of his losses, she also 
said: "The Lord gave, and the Lord hath taken away, blessed be the name of the 
Lord." 

A legend of an old Bedawin woman so independent that she even braved the sea- 
sons is told concerning February 24th. 

Having, had much rain during February, the old Bedawiyeh, to spite the month, 
put herself and tents in a mountain pass in the wilderness of Judaea, and said: " Febru- 
ary, the roarer, is past; I'll kick him a hundred times, for I and my goats are saved 
from his waters." But February, whose reputation is known, and of whom it is said: 
"February, the roarer, climbs and kicks, but summer's odor is in him," was furious at 
the woman who had thus abused him, and said to his cousin, March: "Please give me 
three days, I have only four left; we can make the waters flow once more." February 
and March thus agreed, and during seven days there was unceasing rain. When the 



240 



Woman in the East 



weather was fine again and the sun shone on the camp of the old Bedawiyeh, not even 
a trace of it was left. The terrible waters had washed her away with her tents and 
goats and all appurtenances, and the dead bodies alone were found floating about the 
Dead Sea. These three days are therefore called the borrowed days, as February had 
borrowed them from March. 

The Gipsies are known under the name of " Nowar." They are certainly the most 
despised by every one. They are the real pariahs of society. To call a person a 
" Nury " for a man or " Nuris " for a woman, expresses at once the meanest title and the 
greatest contempt for any person that a Palestinian or Syrian can imagine. 

They have a language of their own, of Central Asiatic origin, and though they 
all talk the Arabic, yet they have a letter "k" which they pronounce very strongly, 
and by which the gipsy is immediately recognized. Probably they have always had 
very little attachment to any country, for they live in tents like the Bedawin, but 
are always found round about towns or wealthy villages, where they can easily earn a 

living. They are generally black- 
smiths, and as the villages have 
no others, they are welcome guests. 
The iron work is always put away 
for the "Nowar's" arrival. 

In Palestine they profess Mu- 
hammadanism, though in reality 
they have very little religion at all. 
They keep the feasts and fasts if 
the occasion suits them, and bury 
their dead in the cemetery nearest 
to the place where they are tempo- 
rarily living. 

They are mostly darker than 
the Bedawin, always black-haired, 
and, like all the tent -living people, 
are very thin as they grow older. The young boys and girls are fatter, and the young 
women are often even good-looking. 

They are under the jurisdiction of a Sheikh of their own election, ruling in or about 
Gaza, and the Government makes him responsible for crimes, for paying of tithes, 
and so forth. 

The gipsies living in tents are considered as Bedawin, and never serve in the army. 
Generally speaking, they are great cowards, and have no arms, though they are almost 
always out of doors. They pitch their tents next to the most important approaches 
of the towns, and whilst the men put up the anvil, light the charcoal fire, and put the 
bellows in motion, and by forging some old iron advertise their arrival, the women go 
about from house to house begging for bread or whatever they can get, occasionally 
stealing, if they find unguarded homes. 

The women are generally dressed in blue like the Southern Palestine Fellahin, 
but have somewhat ampler clothes. They have bracelets, earrings, and nose-rings, 
and have the head tied round with a kind of turban of blue, this being the veil. They 
more readily than any other class wear any clothing they may receive. 

Besides the guttural "k" already mentioned as peculiar in their speech, they all 
have a particular movement of the hips in walking, so that this kind of throwing the 




Woman in the East 



241 



hips right and left whilst walking is called the gipsy walk. Whilst the Palestinian 
generally carries her child of two or three years on the shoulder as before stated, the 
Nurie carries her child on the hip, distorting her body, or, rather, forming a kind of 
obtuse angle with her own body to afford a seat to the heavy baby. The dowry in 
marriage is generally made up of a certain number of donkeys, which the bridegroom 
has to give to the bride's family, and the ceremonies are as short as possible. Then 




ARAB WOMAN CARRYING HER CHILD 



again, they are very cautious towards strangers, and seem to surround themselves 
with as much mystery as possible, being ever on their guard for fear of being known, as 
they generally have either done some thing they ought not, or are ready to plunder and 
steal, and thus had better conceal themselves. 

The women are tattooed on the face, arms, legs, and often on the whole body; 
this tattooing very much serves their purpose, as they are often supposed to possess 
supernatural qualities as sorcerers and geomancers. As they wander about the coun- 



242 



Woman in the East 



try and see all classes of people, they are natural physiognomists, and can tell by the 
looks of a person either what he wishes, or to some degree guess at the troubles he has. 

As with the Bedawm, the woman must answer for her husband, and often keep 
the tent when he is away, or go out on errands when he is busy repairing some plough 
or hatchet, so naturally she is forced to represent the man in his absence. Again, as 
they are usually very poor, and never remain more than a few days in one place, they 
cannot afford to have more than one tent for the whole family, consisting of ten or twelve 
persons. Consequently, no place is reserved for this or that member. No privileges 
are allowed; it is simply, perhaps, the right of might, and as might sometimes means 
finding the easiest way of enabling a family to live, the woman has her great share by 
begging and bringing home the necessaries. 

Besides being geomancers, soothsayers, or house (tent) wives, they are often dan- 
cers, for in this they are very dexterous. When they dance in public they put on a col- 
ored petticoat, and with the castanets at the tips of their fingers, perform very much in 
the style of Occidental ballet dancers, though not with the same agility, but they could 
probably be trained to do so, if they had a series of lessons. Very often the dancer 
lias a tambourine, with cymbals all round it, thus timing herself by the sound. They 
have often two names, one for the Arab population, taken from the favorite names 
of Islam, as Fatmey, Aishy, Hamdy; and also names of animals, as "She-wolf"; or 
even of fruits, as "Peach," and so on. 

They never intermarry with any other class of people, probably because of mutual 
repulsion. Muhammadan law forbids intermarriage with them, for they are "fortv 
times" unclean. This probably points to the fact that in centuries past they were not 
Muhammadans. Islam leaves many such questions without an answer. For all 
Muhammadans are equal — no matter in what condition or of what nation. But the 
same case presents itself as an enigma in another question. Muhammad has promised a 
number of wives in Paradise, and it is not difficult for God to create such out of nothing. 
But what becomes of the soul of the woman who was a believer on earth? Some be- 
lieve her soul immortal, some not. If immortal, where is her place in Paradise? If 
not, why does she pray and fast when on earth? And why is she buried like every 
.other believer ? 

The name of Nowar is said to have been given them when they were building 
the Kaaba, in Mecca — which is called the "Imnowara," that is, "the enlightened," 
whence they received the name of "Lighters." They say they came away from the 
Najd, in Arabia, with the Beni Hilal. In Palestine they fought against their own tribe. 
As two leaders, Zeer and Jassas, being cousins, were each striving to be chief, the 
Gipsies of to-day held with their leader Jassas, and therefore they also call themselves 
"Arabs of Jassas"; but they were overcome by the mightier Zeer, who, after a decisive 
victory, laid a curse on them to ride donkeys perpetually, wherefore they always use 
donkeys, but say: "Cursed be the father of Zeer, who condemned us to ride donkeys." 
But Jassas said he had the victory, and condemned the party of Zeer to plough 
and hold the handle all their lives; wherefore the Fellahin, condemned by Jassas to 
hold the plow, say: " Cursed be the father of Jassas, who made us guide the handle." 

It is traditional to say: "You arrive like the Gipsies," when you arrive in the 
middle of the day. The Gipsies have their excuse in this, that they have no arms, 
are consequently very timid, almost cowards, so they always leave a place only in the 
morning or at noon, to arrive at the next station again at noon, or, at least, long before 



Woman in the East 



243 



sunset, as they have to look out in the new locality for a good camping place, and for 
the most necessary supplies. 

Thev believe themselves to come from Egypt, and they resemble the present 
Egyptian population a good deal, but their language is not Egyptian. The inhabitants 
of Palestine call them Zoot, or Nowar, but they call themselves Dome, and also Nowar, 
as above mentioned. They believe in good and evil spirits, like others; especially do 
thev fear the " horned owl," who is a disguised witch, and very fond of the children. A 
white flag is hoisted on the tent where the visit of the owl is mostly feared, to prevent 
her coming. They have the liveliest children that can be imagined. In the big camps 




ARAB WOMEN SELLING VEGETABLES 



in the plain of Philistia, round Ramleh and Lydda, one often sees groups of boys and 
girls of four to ten years run, jump, and dance, stripped naked; and as soon as the 
strangers pass by, swift as lightning they wrap themselves in a rag or old cloak, run after 
the passers by, and ask for alms. No sooner are the strangers gone than they fling 
off their rags and continue their interrupted play." 

There are other settlers and inhabitants of Palestine and Syria, but in describing 
these five very different populations and distinct classes a fair view of manners and cus- 
toms has been given, and in many cases these very much resemble those of Bible-times. 

On the market place inside the walls of Jerusalem can be seen the daily life of that 
town: the Fellaha women selling their cauliflowers and other- vegetables; men with 



244 



Woman in the East 



camels loaded with roots for fuel; townspeople, Bedawin, Jews with their long gowns 
and slippers, Europeans, and at the gate of the citadel the Turkish soldiers — a gather- 
ing of many nations. 

The Bedawin in Southern Palestine in general are much more degraded than those 
of Northern and Eastern Palestine; their tents are generally composed of mats; and 
only a few months, during the rainy season, the better class use a goat's-hair tent; 
their meals are poor, and their morals savage. As to wedding ceremonies, for instance, 
it suffices for a young man to go to the father of his choice, to hand him a piece of the 
lower end or thick part of a straw or any 'aud (branch), and to say: "Hat (or Khod) 
ya Ahmed Kasalat Bintak" — literally; "Give, (take) O Ahmed, the purity of thy 
daughter ;" whereupon the father either rejects it, or in case of convenience takes the 
straw, and sticks it into his " kaffiye " (head-cloth), whereupon the young man can call 
the girl his own. The better class now shout and dance, cook a lamb or goat, and pre- 
pare a meal; but the poor shepherd hands his father-in-law any sort of a small present, 
and then he goes out looking for his bride, for she, knowing the intentions of the young 
wooer, flees away into the sand-dunes, and it is now his agreeable duty to run after 
her, to seize her, and to pass the honeymoon under the blue sky of the Philistine desert. 
No sort of "Khatib" or scribe is wanted at the wedding ceremony. 

Here, therefore, as well as among the Bedawin of Palestine and the transjordanic 
countries, the 'aud is the symbol of a holy oath. The women here, as well as at Gaza, 
are clothed with a long blue shirt, their face carefully hidden by a black veil, and along 
the nose an ornament similar to that of the modern Egyptians; they are shy and un- 
pleasant, and hate foreigners, declining absolutely to give information as to roads or 
localities, and if they are hard pressed to do so, they flee away like gazelles. The men 
are lazy, mendacious, curious and stupid. 

In passing through the city from the Damascus Gate to the traditional Zion one 
passes through the Jewish Quarter of the city. The conditions here are even worse 
than in the Arabian Quarter. All is squalor and dirt, and the strange unnatural 
faces of the Jews themselves make an unpleasant impression. We came out to the 
Mosque of Nebi Daud, which the Muslims fable to be built on David's grave. Here 
also tradition places the site of the Last Supper of Christ. We did not enter now, as 
we shall devote some other day to the latter. Very close to the Mosque is the tra- 
ditional spot of the Blessed Virgin's death. The German Kaiser bought this spot, and 
gave it to the German Catholics, and they are now building there a fine church. Just 
to think that the walls of a Catholic Church will almost touch the wall of the Muslim 
Mosque ! 

The Muslim is changing. Formerly he harassed the Christian much more than he 
does to-day- Formerly it was impossible to obtain entrance into the Mosque Nebi 
Daud without an order of the Sultan, now one may enter by paying a small bakshish. 
Near the wall, is the traditional site of Caiaphas' house. There is there an Armenian 
Chapel with a graveyard attached. We examined the Chapel, and cemetery. The 
Chapel is small and insignificant. Within, near the altar they show a room about 
four feet by six, and perhaps eight feet high, supposed to be the place where Christ 
was imprisoned on the night of his capture, after his preliminary trial before Caiaphas. 

On this same hill there are some Christian Cemeteries. We entered that of the 
Franciscans. It is in a most wretched condition. All is ruin and disorder. The old 
stones lie strewn about, some dating back to the early years of the eighteenth century. 
Not a green thing is visible; some of the graves can no longer be traced, and others 



A Jourxet to the Philistixe Cities 



245 



are marked by heaps of stones. For order it has no precedence over the Turkish cem- 
etery outside the eastern wall of Jerusalem. 

Down on the hillside we saw the old foundations of the ancient wall that formerly 
enclosed this part of the city, and then we returned to St. Etienne. 

November 2nd. — Mass of " All the Faithful Departed " at the Basilica of St. Etienne 
at 6.10. Assisted at the High Mass at 7.15. After Mass, the Dominican Fathers and 
the few faithful proceeded to the Grotto where He buried their dead. Here appropriate 
psalms and responses were chanted, and pravers were said by the Very Rev. Pere 
Lagrange. These acts of worship make the thought of death one of the practical 
thoughts of life. There is an air of nobilitv in all the life of the Dominicans here. 
The religious worship is performed with precision and great reverence. There is no 
hypocrisy in their lives. In them appears evidently a noble manhood, purified and 
perfected by devotion to high spiritual ideals. In conversing with them one ieels 
that he is in the presence of men of strong character. There is no cringing about them. 
They fulfil the duties of their respective offices, because it is for them the way oi per- 
fection. The most learned of all of them often attends the classes of one of the other 
professors. His presence makes no change in the program of the class. The teacher 
makes no pretence to parade his knowledge, because the superior is there. A calm 
evenness reigns in their fives. The monotony of it must be dreadful, but the high mo- 
tives of the love of God and the thought of Heaven sustain them. The thought of 
fear or favor of the human superior seems not to influence them at all. They obey him 
with a noble manly obedience, because he -represents to them the will of God. This 
obedience thus founded in the supreme motive guides them as well when the Superior 
is absent as when present. Reciprocally, the Superior commands as a m a n dealing 
with mea. 

November 3rd. — We left Jerusalem at 7 o'clock a. m. The party was 
composed of Rev. Pere Savignac the leader, Pere R^imondo, a Dominican of the 
diocese of Avila in Spain. Pere Candido, a Dominican of Asturia in Spain, Rev. Dr. 
Martin Ehrlich, vice rector of the Austrian Hospice in Jerusalem. Dr. Jan Hecjl of 
Koeniggratz in Bohemia. Rev. Father O'Reilly, 0. P. of Pawtucket. R. I.. U. S. A.. 
Rev. Van Roeverden of Holland. Mr. Tisserant of Nancy, France. Rev. Father Mol- 
loy, 0. P.. of Boston. Mass.. and myself. 

We came out towards Bethlehem until we passed the so-called Tomb of Rachel, 
near Bethlehem. There we left the wagon-road, and struck off through a path through 
the mountains due west. The path winds over arid rocky hills where the rocks are 
worn smooth in the path. Here and there in the naturally formed terraces in these hills 
a little grain is cultivated in the proper season. The scene is one wild desolation. No 
human habitation is found throughout these mountains, except a few wretched villages 
on the little plateaus of one or two of the hills. These villages have no importance. 

The sure-footed Arab horses pick their way over these steep smooth rocks as a fox 
would climb . The weird loneliness of these bare rocks is intensified by the total absence 
of any green thing to rest the eye. All is dry and desert. We came into the little village 
of el-Chadr, where is the Greek Church of St. George. It is a small ruinous affair of no 
historical importance. There is a tradition however among the Greeks that St. George 
cures the insane who are brought here. We saw one wretched woman lying in the 
atrium ot the Church. An iron collar was placed about her neck, and the collar was 
chained to the wall. She had been there three months. Her clothing was dirty, 
and she was lying in the dirt on a dirty blanket. These Greeks are Schismatics. 



246 



A Journey to the Philistine Cities 



We went from this point westward until we came to the ruins of an ancient church 
in the mountains. Here Conder places the Emmaus of St. Luke. The opinion has 
no probability There is a fountain of water here; and here we rested two hours, and 
ate dinner. 

There is no trace of the habitation of man here. The Arabs call the place Kha- 
maseh. 

Our dinner consisted of roast lamb, roast chicken, bread, lettuce, sausage, and 
cheese. Our drink was wine and water. All but the water was brought from Jeru- 
salem. 




RACHEL'S TOMB 



At 1.30 p. m. we resumed our journey westward. 

The mountains became still wilder and the way more difficult. At rare intervals 
we could see a lone shepherd or cowherd on the rocky sides of the hills. We came over 
by Umm er-Rash, where once was a small Byzantine church. All is ruin and desola- 
tion. 

We passed on, and came to the traditional cave of Adullam made memorable by 
the events of David's life. It is not very large, and the tradition which makes it the 
cave of Adullam is most improbable. We passed westward through the Wady es- 
Sant, which is most probably the ancient valley of the Terebinth, where David slew 
Goliath. It is a beautiful valley extending east and west between the rocky hills. 



A Journey to the Philistine Cities 



247 



The ground here is cultivated according to the Arab method, which is to take all 
that comes from the soil, and never return anything to it. The product here is a sort 
of maize. The Arabs here do not live in the land. Their villages are upon the hills, 
and they come down into the land at the seed time and harvest. 

We rode all the afternoon through the mountains without meeting anyone, ex- 
cept two Arabs leading camels. It is a lonely desolate land. At 4:30 p. m. we halted 
and pitched our tents in the valley where we found some water. The large spring 
of water was perhaps thirty feet below the surface of the earth. It was walled up by a 
wall of stone, and the water was obtained by buckets of leather let down by a rope. 




INTERIOR OF THE TENT 

Round about is a semicircle of blocks of stone hollowed out into troughs where the 
beasts are watered. It is a stopping-place for the travelers and caravans which pass 
through the land. The valley, and such portions of the hills as the rocks permit, are 
cultivated. The nearest village is Beit Nettif over to the North, perhaps three miles 
away. The hills are full of caves of various sizes. Judaea is a land of caves and tombs. 
Great flocks of partridges live on the hills. As one passes along the rocky paths, 
one often sees little piles of stones arranged in the form of columns in groups. This 
is the Muslim's rude temple in the desert where he prays. In this there is an element 
of the old Jewish cult, for they also built rude altars of stone to Yahveh, during their 
wanderings in the desert. Of course the Muslim slays no victims on these altars. 
The Muslim attitude at prayer is interesting. He squats on his haunches, and sways 



248 



A Journey to the Philistine Cities 



himself to and fro, uttering an inaudible prayer. Frequently and repeatedly he throws 
his body forward in an act of prostration, and touches the stone or the earth with his 
forehead.- He is the natural child of the desert and the plains. He deteriorates by our 
so-called civilization. The Bedawin of the desert has some natural virtues, but the 
Arab of the cities, where he is brought into contact with European influence is deceit- 
ful, and dishonest. 

Our first night in the desert was beautiful. The night was still, and clear, a per- 
fect starlit night. I walked forth from the tent and stood sunk in thought, in the 
midst of the vast, lonely desert. Great events of history have taken place here. Some 
of the fiercest battles of Israelites and Philistines were here fought. Here David, com- 
ing out from Bethlehem, met in single combat Goliath, and slew him with a pebble of the 
brook. But now its great history is past, and solitude and desolation reign supreme. 

November 4. — We arose a little after five, and at 5:40 a. m. Mass was said in the 
main tent by the conductor Rev. Pere Savignac. Of course a portable Altar was em- 
ployed. We all received Holy Communion. At 7:45 a. m. we resumed our journey. 
Our journey was south-west towards Beit Jibrin. The valley of the Terebinth runs 
westward throughout much of our course. We saw two fine specimens of the Tere- 
binth in the valley, and near was the ruin of a Byzantine Church built to commem- 
orate David's victory. Throughout all this land the Muslim has reduced everything 
pertaining to the Christian religion to a ruin. The hill tops are strewn with Roman 
ruins. A few Arab huts built where there is a fountain of water is all that is left of 
what once was a series of Roman cities. 

We ascended the height called Shuwaikeh, which is by some supposed to be the 
ancient Socoh. It was between Socoh and Azekah that the Philistines were encamped 
when David slew Goliath, and led the Israelites to victory. The top of the hill is 
covered with Roman ruins of no great importance. Of course there is the same fre- 
quency of caves. 

We went down through the valley, and crossed over in a diagonal direction, and 
ascended the hill of Tell es-Zechariah. Its summit is covered with Roman ruins. 
Down on the side is an enormous cavern cut out in the hill side. It served as a place 
of retreat in time of war; it has various flights of steps for ingress and egress in various 
directions. 

The modern Arab village of Tell es-Zechariah is down in the valley at the base of 
the hill, near the water. Very often the Arab village is built at the foot of the hill, on 
which stood the ancient city. The reason is obvious. The ancients chose the high 
place on account of its natural strength in time of war. The Arabs choose the valley 
for the convenience of water. 

We visited the great cave, and then went down in the vicinity of the Arab village 
for dinner. It was Friday, and our Arab servant Ibrahim was not able to furnish 
much of a dinner. We had bread, wine, sardines, tunny, cheese, and salad. 

After a rest of a couple of hours we resumed our journey westward without seeing 
anything of especial interest, and pitched our tents near Jibrin at 2 145 p. m. 

It was very warm. This village is supposed by many to be the ancient Gath, 
but this is uncertain. After a cup of tea we went up into the village. It is a wretched 
group of small houses, many of them below the level of the road through which one 
passes. The roofs are made of stone and mortar, forming a flat surface over which one 
passes. There is here the ruin of what was a fine church. The apse is clearly discern- 
ible. 



A Journey to the Philistine Cities 



249 



The whole male population came down to our tent and accompanied us in our 
explorations of the ancient city. It is certain that Jibrin is the Eleutheropolis which 
was given the right of freemen in the second century; hence its name, which signifies 
the "free city." One may clearly determine from the remains of the ancient Roman 
wall that the city was large in extent. All is now a desolate ruin, and the wretched 
Arab village is huddled in one corner of the ruins. There are four good wells of water 
in the village. While the men amused themselves by accompanying us, the women 
were busy drawing water, and baking bread. They make the bread here at Jibrin, of 
flour made of a cereal called Dhura. It is a white grain somewhat smaller than ker- 
nels of rice. It is the main product of the valley here. 

A curious sight was the meat market of the village. Xear a piece of the ancient 
ruined wall, they killed a sheep or goat. The body was suspended from a peg stuck into 
a crevice in the wall. There they cut the carcass into pieces, and sold it to the natives. 

The Arab of these villages of Syria differs much from the savages of other lands. 
He has nothing of that natural strength of character found in the North American 
Indian. He has all the characteristics of an ignorant child. He will come and sit 
down on the ground in front of a European encampment, and gaze in open mouthed, 
stupid curiosity at every act. It is only in the Bedawin who lives in tents in the great 
plains that one finds some strength of character. 

The caverns near Jibrin are the largest that I have ever seen. We visited several 
of them. The largest is distant about a mile from the village. It is evident from the 
ruins at this cavern that an earthquake has destroyed the first great chamber of the 
cave. We entered into the giant cave by a steep descent. We found ourselves in a 
vast chamber whose vaulted top in the central point was more than fifty feet high. 
It was cut by the hand of man into a circular dome-shaped vault. An opening in the 
centre extended to the soil above. The rock is soft and chalky. On one of the walls 
a cross is cut into the rock. On another wall two human figures are traced in an atti- 
tude of the Greek method of prayer, with extended arms. 

The cave consists of a succession of vast chambers of similar form. The most 
probable hypothesis is that here at an uncertain date in ancient history lived cave 
dwellers. Later perhaps the hermits of Christianity made their dwelling here. 

This cave is remarkable for its size in this land of caves. In journeying through 
the land one may well understand how, when Israel was defeated by the Philistines, 
the whole people hid in the caves of the land. 

The ruins in and around the town are very extensive and interesting. The soft rock 
seems to have tempted its inhabitants in every age. and traces of Jewish, Roman, 
Byzantine. Crusading, and Saracenic workmen are to be found. The most striking 
peculiarity, which it shares with a few other sites in the Shephalah. is the great number 
of enormous caverns which are to be found on every side. As a rule, there is an open 
court, or sunken approach, hemmed in with walls of rock, and leading to great and 
domed apartments having man-holes in the roofs. This class, of which there are eleven 
principal examples, goes by the name of Arak. Where the entrance is a narrow door, 
or well-mouth, and the caves have no light, the natives call it a Mogharah. The third 
kind, the rock-cut sepulchres, they name here, as throughout Palestine, Xamus 
(plural Xawamfs), which means a mosquito, and is a vulgar corruption of the common 
Arabic title Xaus (pi. Xawawfs). 

That Beit Jibrin is an ancient site may be judged from the existence of rock-cut 
wine-presses and olive-presses in its vicinity, and of sepulchres of unusual size, one 



250 



A Journey to the Philistine Cities 



containing thirty-four loculi, running in from the sides of its two chambers in the ordi- 
nary manner of Jewish tombs, the length of each being no less than 8 feet 4 inches. 
There are four good examples of this style of tomb, as well as several which have been 
broken into and destroyed in the process of enlarging the great caverns. 

Beit Jibrin has, I believe, been identified by some authors with Gath, but to this 
there seems to be many objections. The Onomasticon is not always a safe guide, 
but in this case it is almost the only one we have; and, to say the least, it was easier to 
find an old site in the third century than in the nineteenth century. The Onomas- 
ticon defines Gath as being north from Eleutheropolis (or Beit Jibrin), on the road to 
Lydda, and again visible to those who went from Eleutheropolis to Gaza (probably 
for Gazara, or Gezer, at TellGezer), at the fifth milestone. This is a fatal objection, 
at least to the Gath of Eusebius being at Beit Jibrin ; in addition to which Gath was in 
the country of the Philistines — the plain rather than the Shephalah — it was a strong 
site, and fortified by Rehoboam, not as is Beit Jibrin, a position naturally weak. 
Josephus mentions the " Borders of Gath " in connection with Ekron. Gaza to Gath he 
again gives, apparently as defining the whole extent of the southern plain taken by Joshua. 

In the flight of the Philistines down the Valley of Elah, they were smitten to 
Sha'araim and Gath. None of these indications, slight though they are, fit with 
Beit Jibrin, but they all fit well with the other proposed site at Tell el Safieh, the 
strong fortress of Blanche Garde or Alba Specula. The most conclusive passage in 
Josephus may be added (Ant. v. 1. 22), where he defines the limit of the tribe of Dan: 
"Also they had all Jamnia and Gath, from Ekron to that mountain where the tribe 
of Judah begins," a definition which places Gath very far north, and at all events not 
farther south than Tell el Safieh. 

In one passage Josephus substitutes Ipan (Ant. viii. 10. 1), where Gath occurs in 
the old Testament (2 Chron. xi. 8), but this does not appear to assist the identification 
much. Gath seems to have been one of the principal Philistine strongholds, and as 
such, its position must have been important. It is, however, curiously omitted in the 
topographical lists, as is also Ascalon, another Philistine city — probably because 
neither was taken during Joshua's campaign in the plains. 

The magnificent natural site of Tell el Safieh, standing above the broad valley, 
which seems undoubtedly the Valley of Elah, and presenting on the north and west 
a white precipice of many hundred feet, must have made this place one of importance 
in all ages. In its mounds, excavation might be productive of good results, but even 
of the fortress of Blanche Garde no trace seems to remain beyond the scarped side of 
the rock upon the east, evidently artificial. There are many large caves in the northern 
precipice, and excavations, where grain is now kept. The village at the top is a col- 
lection of miserable mud huts, inhabited by insolent peasantry. 

Near Sandahannah is a burial cave which has recently become unduly famous. 
When Conder visited Beit Jibrin in 1875, he heard report of a cavern called 'Arak 
el-Finsh, or the Phoenician cave. He seems not to have explored it. 

In his report in the Quarterly Statement, 1900, p. 336, Dr. Bliss proposed to iden- 
tify Sandahannah with the biblical Maresha. The Palestine Exploration Fund sur- 
veyed all this region between 1898 and 1900; but they failed to find one famous tomb. 

Very early in the year 1902, John Whiting, Fred. Vester, and Fareed Naseef of the 
American colony at Jerusalem were invited by Taidy Effendi, afterwards governor of 
Bethlehem, to take a journey with him into the region of Beth Jibrin. The Sheikh 
of Beth Jibrin received them kindly and conducted them to a rock-cut tomb, which 



A Journey to the Philistine Cities 



251 



had been recently discovered by the natives. They explored the tomb, and attempted 
to photograph it, but the plate was poor. 

They again visited the tomb, and purchased some red glass vases of the natives. 

Some of the American colony told the Dominicans of the Ecole Biblique of the 
discovery, but nothing was done. 

In June of 1902, Rev. J. P. Peters, of New York, and Dr. Hermann Thiersch of 
Munich visited the store of the American Colony at Jerusalem, and from members of 
the colony heard of the newly discovered tomb. I believe that the motive of the mem- 
bers of the colony was to secure purchasers for the objects which they hoped to obtain 
from the tomb. Peters and Thiersch immediately visited the tomb and by the 
assistance of the American Consul, Selah Merrill, they obtained from the Turkish 
Government that the tomb should be locked. Having secured exclusive rights in the 
tombs, Peters and Thiersch employed the Arab photographer, Mr. C. Raad of Jerusa- 
lem to photograph the tombs. They then secured the services of two Dominican 
Fathers, Vincent and Savignac, who went to the tombs, and made sketches, water- 
color paintings, and copies of the inscriptions. Utilizing the labors of those whom they 
so prudently employed, Peters and Thiersch have issued a work entitled Painted 
Tombs of Marissa, 

Undue importance has been given to these tombs. They are tombs of a Sidonian 
colony settled here, the chief of whom was Apollophanes. They date back to the end 
of the III. century and the II. century, B. C, when Syria was under the Ptolemies. 

The inscriptions are all in Greek, and. the ornamentation is Greek, tinged by 
Egyptian influence. 

A large frieze of painted animals runs round the wall of the principal tomb. Some 
of these figures are very finely wrought. 

As the Muslims abhor such representations, as being idolatrous, some of these have 
been mutilated. 

A curious erotic inscription is there inscribed. Its true reading can not be 
determined; but the following is one of the conjectures: 

" There is nought that I may do [suffer] for thee or wherein I may please thee. 

I lie with another, though loving thee dearly. 
But, by Aphrodite, of one thing I am very glad: that thy cloak lieth in pawn. 
But I run away, and to thee I leave behind plenty of free room [complete 

freedom?] Do what thou willst. 
Do not strike the wall; that does but make a noise; but through the doors. 

It lieth in nods." [By signs we communicate with one another.] 

Some have thought that this represented a communication between a dead maiden 
and her living lover. This is evidently absurd. The inscription is on the right hand 
wall of the door passage, not associated with any tomb. It is not as ancient as the 
tomb inscriptions; indeed it resembles the writing of the end of the third century. 
It is self-evident that no such inscription would ever be placed on a tomb. It is simply 
an episode in a romance. It is a woman's communication to her paramour. She is 
held by another, though loving him. In some preceding intercourse he has left his 
cloak with her. She rejoices in the possession of this. She warns him not to strike 
on the wall. 

This is difficult to understand as we do not know the circumstances of the actors 
in the romance. It seems evident that beforehand the lover had communicated with 



252 



A Journey to the Philistine Cities 



her by striking on some wall behind which she was. She forbids this, evidently from 
fear that the noise will cause detection; she advises instead to make use of nods or 
signs which she may see through the doors. 

We came back to the tent, and supped of rice soup, fried eggs, potatoes boiled 
with canned salmon, cheese, bread, and wine. 

We retired early, and were soon asleep. It rained some during the night. We 
arose at 5.30. By the kindness of Pere Savignac, I was permitted to say the Mass 
for the company. Small is the following which the Lord has in this land, and it is 
truly fulfilled that "Jesus came unto his own, and his own received him not." 

Over in the continent of America, the land of the wild Indian, the Lord has mil- 
lions of faithful followers; but here where he lived and died, he is rejected. 

We breakfasted of black coffee, bread, cheese, and soft boiled eggs. As it threat- 
ened rain, we set out a little before seven, going south-west towards Tell el-Hesy. We 
passed by the ruined Church of Sandahannah, or St. John, of Byzantine construction 

of which a portion of the apse remains. 

It is a lonely object there in the plain 
near the wretched village. No pen can de- 
scribe the destruction that the Muslim hordes 
have wrought in this land. We ascended the 
Tell of Sandahannah near by; named from the 
church. Nothing is there but piles of small 
stones and a portion of the ancient wall laid 
bare by the English explorers. 

From this point we went south-west 
through the southern portion of the great 
plain of Sharon to Tell el-Hesy. We reached this ruin a little before noon and halted 
in the plain in the shade of a shelving rock near some water for dinner. Our Arab had 
bought some chickens, and boiled them, and these with some American corned-beef 
and bread formed our dinner. 

After dinner we ascended the steep hill. It is of soft brittle clay, but occupied a 
commanding position. Traces of pottery, brick, and even human bones are found 
imbedded in the clay of the hill. Here men place the ancient Lachis; but it is only a 
hypothesis without any positive argument. 

"The English explorer, Flinders Petrie, excavated here to some extent; but the 
discoveries have not been important. 

A summarized report of his excavations appeared in the Palestine Exploration 
Fund Quarterly Statement for 1890, p. 159. He denies that Tell el-Hesy was the an- 
cient Lachis. He places the origin of the Tell in 1500 B. C. It was an Amorite city. 

The actual remains of Tell Hesy consist of a mound which is formed of successive 
towns, one on the ruins of another, and an enclosure taking in an area to the south 
and west of it. This enclosure is nearly a quarter of a mile across in each direction, 
and is bounded by a clay rampart still seven feet high in parts, and in one place by a 
brick wall. This area of about thirty acres would suffice to take in a large quantity 
of cattle in case of a sudden invasion ; and such was probably its purpose, as no buildings 
are found on it, and there is but little depth of soil. The city mound is about 200 
feet square; its natural ground is 45 to 58 feet above the stream in the Wady below, 




A Journey to the Philistine Cities 



253 



and on that the mass of dust and ruins of brick trails rises 60 feet. The whole of the 
east side of the town is destroyed by the encroachments of the valley, which here makes 
a great bend that has enabled the winter torrents to eat away this side. But for this 
fact we should have been unable to reach anything much of the earlier ages here; but 
in the section cut away in a steep slope above the wady, every period is exposed. We 
can thus see the succession of the walls of the town, and trace its history. 

The earliest town here was of great strength and importance; the lowest wall of 
all being 28 feet 8 inches thick, of clay bricks, unburnt; and over this are two successive 
patchings of later rebuuding. altogether 21 feet of height remaining. Such massive 
work was certainly not that of the oppressed Israelites during the time of the Judges ; 
it cannot be as late as the Kings, since the pottery of about 1100 B. C. is found above 
its level. It must therefore be the Amorite city; and agrees with the account that 
"the cities are walled and very great " (Num. xiii. 28), " great and walled up to heaven " 
(Deut. i. 28). and also with sculptures of the conquest of Rameses II. at Karnak. 
where the Amorite cities are all massively fortified. So far as a scale of accumulation 
can be estimated, the foundation of the city wall would have been about 1 500 B.C., and 
thus agrees with the time of the great Egyptian conquests of the land, beginning under 
Tahutmes I. at that date. The need of defence against such a well organized foe prob- 
ably gave the great start to fortifying in Syria. On both outside and inside of this 
wall is a great quantity of burnt dust and ashes, with fragments of pottery : and we can 
now exactly know the character of the Amorite pottery, and its pecuharities, which 
are quite different from those of other times or places. 

The next period is marked by a stratum of 5 feet of dust and rolled stones out 
of the valley below, lying in confusion on the ruins of the great Amorite wall. These 
remains clearly show a barbaric period, when the inhabitants were not skilled either in 
brick-making or in fortifying, and when rude huts of the nearest materials were piled 
up, only to fall soon into ruin. This accords with what we glean as to the period of 
the Judges, and, coming immediately on the ruins of the Amorite city, the historical 
relation of these remains can hardly be doubted. Above this we meet a period of 
wan-bunding and fortifying, which goes on with intermissions and various destructions 
until the end of the history. The first of these walls is the most solid, being 1 3 feet thick, 
and this probably belongs to Rehoboam's fortification of Lachish (2 Chron. xi. 9); 
for, though David and Solomon doubtless did some building (2 Chron. viii. 2-6), 
yet probably this was more in the outlying parts of the Kingdom, and not so near home, 
where the strength of the inhabitants was sufficient protection. Rehoboam, on the 
contrary, found himself with a shattered country, which needed consolidating through- 
out ; and his fortification of the inner circuit of towns shows how "little David and Solo- 
mon had thought it needful to attend to them. Probably to this fortifying of Reho- 
boam we must attribute the wall which has been traced along the north and west of the 
town, forming a tower at the north-west corner. But to trace the connection of walls 
in one part with another is a difficult task, as they need to be cleared all along, and 
all the rebuudings and patchings tracked up — a most tedious affair. The four re- 
buildings which may be traced on the east face section must belong to some of the 
fortifying mentioned as having been done under Asa, Jehoshaphat. Uzziah, Jotham, 
and Manasseh. That the main building here does not belong to later times than 
Nebuchadnezzar's destruction is shown by the scanty remains of post -exilic times 
found on the very top of the mound, a Persian coin and pieces of Greek potterv of the 
fifth centurv. 



254 



A Journey to the Philistine Cities 



On the south side a different character of walls is found; one of the later being a 
massive brick wall 25 feet thick, and still of a considerable height. Probably this be- 
longs to Manasseh's work, about 650 B.C. This was built over a great glacis slope, 
formed of blocks of stone faced with plaster, which can be traced for forty feet height 
of slope ; perhaps this may be attributed to the hasty defences by Hezekiah at the time 
of Sennacherib's invasion in 713 B.C. A flight of steps of rather rough stones led up to 
an ascent of the glacis, which has now perished in the valley, and there is the gate- 
way of a building at the foot of the steps, the rest of which has likewise been washed 
away." 

One important fact revealed by the excavations is the manner in which the several 
periods succeeded each other. One civilization was built over the ruins of the other 
so that in cutting down the hill as one would cut a cheese; there appear the sev- 
eral strata of the different civilizations, Amorite, early Jewish, later Jewish, Seleu- 
cidan, Byzantine and Arabic. 

We went from here north-east to Ajlun which is a little pile of stones on the sum- 
mit of a low hill. Here men place the ancient Eglon. It is also a mere hypothesis. 

We turned due west, passed over the few inconsiderable ruins of Umm Lakis, 
by some identified with the ancient Lakis, and at four o'clock we encamped in the 
plain near the Arab village of Burer. All the men and boys of the village came down 
to the tents, and stood or squatted there in ignorant stupid curiosity. The Sheikh 
of the village came down, and by means of words of command enforced by a stick, 
he kept the populace back, so that they did not encroach upon us. 

The wells of the region are generally very deep, and instead of pumps they attach 
a leather bucket to a rope and thus haul up the water. Often they let the rope run 
over the stone border of the well and one runs back several rods with the upper end 
of the rope thus drawing up the bucket, which another empties. The houses of Burer 
are made of mud thatched with straw. 

Throughout all this land one finds frequent traces of the great Roman roads which 
connected the cities in the days of the Roman dominion. The plain now belongs to 
tribes of Bedawin, whose black tents are scattered in small groups all over the plain. 
Separate human habitations are never found through the land in this country. The 
ordinary Arab lives in small villages, and goes down into the fields for the seeding and the 
harvest. The Bedawin lives in tents, and lives from the harvest, and from his flocks 
and herds. The life of the people has nothing ennobling or refined in it. Many of 
the inhabitants are black as ebony. It is a relief to meet these, as the dirt is not so 
apparent on them. 

Great hedges of cactus surround the villages, and form enclosures in and about 
the villages. Some of these gigantic plants attain a height of ten or twelve feet. 
The cactus is well adapted to stand the heat. 

Glass windows are not found in the villages. The light enters through openings 
in the walls, the largest of which serves for a door. They make of the clay of the plains 
square blocks, mixing with it broken straw. These serve for the walls of the houses, 
and for walls of defense. No quarries of stone are found here in the plain, and this 
fact compels them to adopt the aforesaid method of building. They use also any small 
stones which they find in the plain, and then they plaster the rough surface of the 
wall thus constructed with a mortar made of mud and straw. This same method was 
used in the ancient .Chanaanite cities of the plain ; and this explains the fact that not 
a trace of these ancient cities exists. When a city built of stone is destroyed, the 



A Journey to the Philistine Cities 



2.55 



stones remain, but a city built of blocks of unbaked mud and straw disappears entirely. 

Whenever we encamp near one of these villages, we secure two watchmen from the 
Sheikh of the village. This secures us protection for the night. 

Near to all the Muslim mosques of this land one finds one or more trees. These 
trees are held sacred by the Muslim. When one is sick a piece of the sick one's 
clothing is attached to the tree to obtain a cure. Frequently one finds votive offer- 
ings in the mosques for cures believed to have been received. 

November 6th. — It rained hard last night, a real thunderstorm. The weather is 
so cool this morning that we wear our horsemen's cloaks on the march. Two masses 




VIEW OF GAZA 



were celebrated in the tent this morning, it being Sunday. Drs. Ehriich and Hecjl 
celebrated. The others received Holy Communion. There was nothing to see in the 
village, and we set out at 7.30 westward through the plain towards Gaza. There is 
nothing of historical importance in the valley. The villages are of the same manner 
of construction, mere wretched clusters of Arab huts. We have left the mountains, 
and remain always in the great plain which extends all along the coast of the sea. 

We reached Gaza at 11.30 a. m., and pitched our tents in the garden of the Cath- 
olic missionary priest of the village. He is an Austrian, Rev. Gatt. There are perhaps 
sixty Catholics in the village. This is the first trace of Catholic religion that we have 
found since leaving Jerusalem. The good M. Gatt gave us the freedom of his house. 



256 



A Journey to the Philistine Cities 



We had brought food with us, and we prepared dinner in the main room of his house. 
Our menu is everyday about the same. When we come to a village, our Arab servant 
buys chickens, eggs, and bread. The chickens are boiled and kept in stock. We eat 
them cold. 

The aged priest of the village accompanied us through the city. The population 
is about 35,000. Of these there are about 1,000 schismatic Greeks here, and about 
sixty Roman Catholics. Rev. M. Gatt has lived here alone for over twenty years. 
He has a little garden, and a part interest in a small mill, where most of the grists of 




GREAT MOSQUE AT (GAZA 



the people are ground. From this source he obtains a living. He was not sent here, 
and he receives no support from the Patriarchate of Jerusalem. He came here when 
there was not a Christian in the city, and the few that are there now are his work. 
His church is in the upper room of his house. Such a life offers nothing from a worldly 
point of view. Few Europeans ever come to the city. The very thought of this man's 
life makes me shudder. He is bent with age and hardships. There is a fixed sad ex- 
pression on his spare countenance. He speaks but little, and always in a low tone. 

We attended Benediction in his chapel at 4.50 p. m. on Sunday afternoon. There 
were about six or seven Arab women, and about the same number of Arab men present; 
also a half dozen boys, and a few little girls. All were very devout. 



A JOURXEY TO THE PHILISTINE ClTIES 



257 



The chapel was well furnished. It has an organ, and the Arab men present sang 
some Arab hvmns. and also the Tantum ersro. in Latin. All the rest of the liturgv 
was in Arabic. The priest recited various litanies and prayers in Arabic. 

Here one may well understand the necessity of using the vernacular in so much as 
possible of the liturgy. When will the Authorities of the Catholic Church recognize 
the enormous advantage it would give us in English-speaking countries to use the 
English language in all the liturgy which is not recited in secret ? 




THE VEIL AS WORN AT GAZA 



There seems to be no doubt that the site is the ancient Gaza of the Philistines. 
Not a trace of the ancient city remains. The place is shown where Samson tore the 
gates of the city from their fastenings and carried them over on the mountain. Tra- 
dition places the mountain which Samson ascended with the gates at Dschebel el- 
Muntar, a high point to the south about two miles distant. 

Here at Gaza in a small mosque is the tomb of the grand-father of Muhammad, 
the founder of Islamism. 



258 



A Journey to the Philistine Cities 



The main mosque of the city is built out of a church which dates back to the 
fifth century. There are ruins here also which date back to the time of the Crusades. 
The city is dirty beyond all description. The main street of the older part of the city 
is not more than ten feet wide, and the recent rain had covered it with a mire several 
inches deep. The covering of matting of reeds overhead prevents the streets from 
drying, and the condition remains dirty, dark, and filled with foul odors. 

The general appearance of the land resembles greatly Alexandria. It is the same 
flat plain stretching down to the sea, and the date palm is the most common tree. 




RUINS OF ASHKELON 



The dirty barefooted women have a covering for their faces which is unique. 
It hangs pendant from a fillet about their head, and leaving the eyes bare, spreads out 
over the nose and mouth ; often it is adorned with little plates of metal or pieces of money 

The Mussulman girls are married very young, and as soon as a girl is married 
she must veil her face. It is pitiable to see the poor little things, barefooted, half 
clothed, carrying their dirty babes in their arms. 

The whole great plain along the sea is very fertile. The harvests are most abun- 
dant, but the Turkish government takes the most of the fruits of industry in the name 
of taxes. The government does nothing for the people, but it robs them of what they 
earn, and thus stifles industry. It is a sad sight to see these rich plains which should 
maintain a rich and happy people now almost deserts through the influence of the 



A Journey to the Philistine Cities 



259 



Turk. And vet this vile Turk is kept in power by the Christian nations of Europe. 
Grand harbors could easily be built along the coast. Irrigation could be operated by 
the government, and Syria could be converted into the granary of Europe. Schools 
could be maintained, and thus the people might be raised from their degrading igno- 
rance and poverty. But nothing of this can be hoped for while the Turk is in control. 
The Turk fears all progress, and systematically opposes it. It is only by keeping the 
Arabs in their ignorance that the Turk is able to maintain his power. If an Arab finds 
an ancient monument in any part of the land, the Turkish government comes and takes 
it to Constantinople, without a cent of compensation to the finder. The government 
is an ascending series of robbers. 

The people are profiting by the recent rain to plow for the cereals. The plows 
are little plates of metal fixed to crooked sticks of wood. They plow a little furrow 
in the soft earth not more than four inches deep and less than four inches in width. 
There are no shares on the plows to turn the land over. A grass sod is unknown here. 
The plowing is done by asses yoked together as we yoke oxen, or by small oxen or cows 
similarly yoked, or by a camel. The population 
of Gaza is about 35,000 souls. 

November 7th. — We arose at five o'clock, 
and masses were celebrated in the chapel of the 
good priest Father Gatt. The morning was cool. 
We set out at 7.20 due west to the sea. After a 
journey of about ten minutes we came into a 
great plain of sand stretching down to the 
sea. This sand is blown up from the seashore 
bvthe wind, and piled up into heaps, as snow 
drifts in our land. It is a desolate waste, examining the ruins of ashkelon 

We came down to the sea, and turned directly north along the border of the 
Mediterranean. It was a relief to again breathe the air of the sea, and to hear it roar. 
It was so pure and clean, such a contrast to the dirty villages through which we had 
passed. One could feel, while looking over its blue waves that on its wide expanse 
man had not marred the Creator's work. Myriads upon myriads of shells are piled 
along the shore. Our journey lay close to the sea even to Askalan, the ancient Ash- 
kelon. Here we halted under a great Sycamore tree for dinner. 

At noon the day was very warm, and there was no air in the low sand plain. 

After dinner of chicken, mutton, bread and wine, we visited the ruins. There is 
no village on the ancient site of Ashkelon. A very small Arab village is a litte farther 
inland. The ruins which remain are of the Crusaders. They built a wall enclosing 
a large portion of the plain in the form of a semicircle. The wall was made of small 
stones and a large quantity of mortar. They used the sand of the seashore, and the 
shells are there in perfect preservation in the ruins. To strengthen the walls, they 
placed transversely in them the marble, granite, and stone pillars which had existed 
in a former city, probably which Herod the Great had built. Nothing else remains 
of the ancient Ashkelon. The few dwellers of the Arab village close by are intensely 
ignorant and stupid. They come out and stare at us as dogs might do. 

At a little before two we mounted our horses and rode northward but a little 
inland so that the sea was no longer in sight. The plain continues. We passed 
through the Arab village of El-Medsdel. The narrow streets resemble nothing 




260 



A Journey to the Philistine Cities 



better than narrow ditches in a barn-yard filled with the foulest offal. We reached 
Eshdud; the ancient Ashdod, a little before five o'clock, and encamped in the plain 
near the village. 

As usual the whole populace came out to see us. They are a strange assembly 
of dirty barefooted creatures, most stupid in attitude and expression of countenance. 
There are no ancient ruins visible at Eshdud. The ancient city is supposed to 
have existed on the hill to the north of the village. There is a dismal sameness in the 
manner of construction of all these cities. The walls are of small stones and mud mixed 
with broken straw. The houses are of only one story. The walls are plastered with 




GENERAL VIEW OF ASH DO D 



mud, straw and cow-dung. They have a dull dirty-looking appearance. For roofs 
they place some layers of branches of trees for a support, and on these they pile small 
branches, straw, and then round the whole off into a mound formed of mud and dung. 
They have no stoves. They build a fire on the earth, either within or without the hut. 
If it be built within the door, some small holes in the walls permit the smoke to escape. 
As the straw is valuable, they stack it up in small stacks, and cover them with mud 
and manure. It thus lasts for years. 

November 8th. — We set out from Eshdud at 7.30 going due west to the site of 
the ancient harbor of Eshdud. We soon entered into a great undulating plain of 
sand. Our horses sank into the sand, making our progress slow and fatiguing. On 
the contrary, the broad flat feet of the camels enabled them to travel over these ex- 



A Journey to the Philistine Cities 



2G1 



panses of sand with perfect ease. Nature has in every way fitted the camel for the 
East. The sand desert reached inward for about three miles. On some of the knolls 
a few stunted blades of prairie grass, and stunted shrubbery were struggling to live; 
but they hardly broke the vista of the vast plain of drifted sand. 

We came down to the sea, but found no ruins of any importance. After a bath 
in the Mediterranean, we set off north-east for Yebna, the ancient Jamnia. 

For miles we journeyed through the sand. The reflection of the sun from the sand 
was strong. We reached Yebna at noon, after a hard ride of four hours. We encamped 
under a shady sycamore, and ate our dinner of boiled chicken, canned beef, wine and 




VIEW OF YEBNA (JAMNIA) 



bread. The water source of the village was near. The well is deep and furnished with 
a chain and series of buckets fastened to a wooden shaft. This is turned by two large 
wooden cog-wheels turned by a wooden lever. A crowd of the women and girls of the 
village were filling their earthen jars at the well. Others were coming and going. 
Four women turned the lever to draw up the water, while the others filled their jars. 
All were barefooted, dirty, and wretchedly clad. 

We left Yebna at two o'clock, and came down to Mughar. We visited the cave 
tombs here, but in their present condition they are not important. 

We always pack our tents and utensils on mules, and send them in the morning 
directly to the place where we are to encamp for the night, so that when we reach such 



262 



Gezer 



destination all is prepared for the encampment. We reached Akir, the ancient Ekron, 
at 4.30 p. m. 

The day has been warm, but the evening is clear and delightfully cool. 

November 9th. — We arose as usual at 5.30, and after Mass in the tent , and our 
usual breakfast, we visited the village. Near our encampment was the water supply 
of the village for the men and animals. It is a deep well furnished with a chain and 
buckets fastened to a shaft. The shaft is turned by a horse or ass. 




DRAWING WATER 

The village is small and dirty. As we passed through the narrow street men, 
women and children were sitting down in the midst of the dried manure of animals. 
A few broken marble columns of uncertain date and origin were all the ruins here vis- 
ible. 

We rode east towards Tell Gezer, the ancient Gezer. We crossed the railroad at 
Naane, and soon after began to ascend the gentle rocky slope that leads up to the tell. 



Gezer 



263 



Here we found the eminent Archaeologist, Mr. Macalister, the director of the 
work carried on by the English Exploration Fund. He kindly showed us all the vast 
and important ruins of the ancient city. The ancient city occupied the whole top of 
the hill. Xear by is the modern village of Abu Shusheh. M. Clement Ganneau 
first proposed to identify the mound, or tell, as such mounds are called in Arabic, with 
the ancient Gezer. Subsequent discoveries have confirmed the identification. In pre- 
Israelite times, Gezer is spoken of in the Tell el-Amarna tablets. The Governor of 
Gezer Yapahi sends to Amenophis IV. of Egypt demanding help against the Hahiri. 
Abd-hiba of Jerusalem also sent a letter to Amenophis IV. complaining that the 
neighborhood of Gezer, of Askalon, and of Lachish had given the rebels food, oil, and 
every necessity. 

King Hiram of Gezer allied himself with Lachish against Joshua, but was de- 
feated and slain, (Josh. x. 33). Gezer was given to the tribe of Ephraim, and was a 
Semitical city of the family of Kohath (Josh. xvi. 3; xxi.). 

David warred against the Philistines at Gezer; and there Sibbecai of the army of 
David slew the giant Sippai (I. 
Chron. xx. 4). 

In the days of Solomon, 
Pharaoh of Egypt took Gezer from 
the Chanaanites, burnt it, and gave 
the* site to his daughter whom Solo- 
mon had married. Solomon re- 
built the city. 

In I. Maccab. v. 8, the city is 
mentioned in the text of the Vul- 
gate as Gazer; in the Greek as 
Iazer. Under the name Gazara, 
it is mentioned several times in the 
history of the Maccabaean epoch. 

As Gezer was a Chanaanite city 
in which the original dwellers re- 
mained after the Israelite occupation, I shall give extracts from Mr. Macalister's report : 

"In my paper on the "History and Site of Gezer," published in the last number of 
the Quarterly Statement, I mentioned that the mound, which lies due east and west,, 
rises at each end into a knoll. These knolls are probably the debris-covered tops of 
two natural hills, with a valley between them which (like the Tyropceon valley at 
Jerusalem) has become filled up with rubbish from the elevated parts of the city. In 
this and subsequent reports, when I have occasion to speak of these separate divisions, 
of the mound, I shall refer to them as the "Eastern Hill," the "Central Valley," and 
the "Western Hill" respectively. Possibly this division of the town into two parts — 
one on each hill — may have something to do with its name. 

I decided that it was advisable to confine my attention at first to the Eastern 
Hill, as the top of the Western Hill is occupied partly by a modern cemetery and partly 
by the shrine of the local saint, and it seemed wise to avoid this forbidden ground as 
much as possible at the beginning of the work. 

The length of the plateau on the top of the Eastern Hill (west to east) is about 
500 feet. There is an extensive area at the eastern end over which the rock crops out 
to the surface, and where the soil, when tested by trial shafts, was nowhere more than 




EXCAVATIONS AT GEZER 



264 



Gezer 





RUINS OF GEZER — From a photograph by Dr. Hecfl 



4 feet deep. I concluded that this part of the plateau might for the present be passed 
over. A point was therefore selected on the north side of the mound, where trial-pits 

showed that the soil commenced to deepen 
(just west of the area of shallow earth), and 
a trench 40 feet wide was cut right across 
the mound from north to south. A second 
trench, continuous with the first and west of 
it, is now being dug; and this process will be 
continued throughout the excavation. 

The accumulation of debris is not very 
deep — the greatest depth yet reached is 18^ 
feet; and the objects it contains are uniformly 
of high antiquity. On this Eastern Hill we 
have to deal almost, if not quite, exclusively 
with pre-Israelite occupations: the remains, 
perhaps, of the Solomonic, and certainly of 
the Maccabean and later cities, are to be 
sought elsewhere, probably on the Western 
Hill. The principal results of this excavation 
have been the discovery of sections of a great 
city wall, of a most important burial-cave, 
the examination of which has thrown much 
light on the physical characteristics, funerary customs, and pottery of some of the 
earliest races of Palestine; of a small temenos or high place, containing a stone 
circle; and of a considerable variety of objects 
belonging to the later stone age and the 
bronze age of culture. 

The house walls are uniformly in a chaotic 
state of ruin, and it has so far been impossi- 
ble to recover the complete plan of any single 
dwelling. The principal value of these remains 
consists in their easily recognizable stratifica- 
tion, from which the outlines of the history of 
occupation can clearly be deduced. 

Throughout there are three well-marked 
series of walls; but underlying the lowest we 
have here and there a few rude structures 
assignable only to a still earlier occupation, 
and in one or two places are to be found evi- 
dences of imperfect rebuilding within the 
limits of a single stratum. There are, besides, 
a few intrusive walls belonging to some later 
period, built after the surface had been de- 
serted; these are insufficient to be classed as 
a fifth occupation, being merely such walls 
as might naturally be built for dividing property, or for landmarks in open fields, &c. 

The four main strata of building I number I, II, III, IV, from rock upwards to 
surface. Should it ever prove necessary to refer to the subdivisions of strata caused 




MR. MACALISTER AND THE AUTHOR AT 
GEZER — From a photograp/i by Dr. Hecjl 



Gezer 



265 




MR. MACALISTER AXD THE AUTHOR ON 
THE RUINS OF GEZER — From a photograph by 
Dr. Hecjl 



hy rebuilding, they will be indicated by the notation, e.g., Ila, lib, the first being the lower. 

The walls all consist of rough stones of a great variety of sizes, from small pebbles 
to large boulders, which a strong man can 
scarcely lift, set in mud. Xone of the stones 
show evidence of an}" but the very roughest 
hammer dressing. A certain amount of sun- 
dried brick was also used, but the few walls 
built of that material were invariably founded 
on a course or two of stones. At two places 
in the first trench were found large solid masses 
of brick-work, irregular in outline, belonging 
to the third city; they were each about six 
feet high, and measured respectively, in cross 
dimensions, 8 ft. X 3ft. 6 in. and 9ft. 3 in. x 7ft. 
In the top of one of these was sunk a circular 
vat about 2 feet across. As an example of the 
size of brick used I give the dimensions of a 
fine specimen — 1 ft. 3 in. x 1 ft. 3 ^ in. x 7 in. 

The floors of the houses, when they were 
traceable at all, consisted as usual of beaten 
mud and limestone. They were valuable in 
supplying date levels, as were also the pit- 
ovens found in considerable numbers through- 
out the trench. One of the house floors had a deep circular depression sunk within it ; no 
doubt many domestic purposes could be assigned to this feature . which showed no special 

indication of the use for which it was made. 

Characteristic of the first city are a num- 
ber of broad, stone causeways, usually about 
5 feet thick and 1 foot to 3 feet high, laid on 
the surface of the rock, and generally crossing 
irregular natural depressions therein. 

The city wall is a magnificent structure, 
of an average thickness of 14 feet, and in some 
places standing below ground to a height of 1 2 
feet. At intervals it has towers on the outer, 
and also on the inner side, the external towers 
are alternately ( ?) of shallow and of deep pro- 
jection, the former extending about three feet, 
the latter about 1 2 feet, beyond the face of the 
wall. The angles of the larger tower are 
rounded, and the faces of both have a batter. 

At the back of the wall runs another, 
of much less thickness, and practically 
parallel with it. There are reasons for re- 
garding the inner as the more ancient struc- 
ture, probably belonging to the first or second city, and the outer and larger wall as 
the defence of the third or fourth. At the north-east and south-east angles the two 
walls interfere with one another in a very complex manner. 




RUINS OF GEZER 



266 



Gezer 



The Temenos was made the subject of a special investigation. Its west- 
ern wall projected slightly into the eastern side of the first trench, and attracted 
attention by its superior masonry and evident importance. A pit was accordingly dug 
to the east of the trench in order to determine the nature of the building to which this 
wall belonged. Being on the rock, and overlaid with two later independent series of 
buildings, it must be assigned to the first or second city. It consists of a four-sided 
enclosure, not rectangular, though probably intended to be so, with rounded corners. 
There is no definite rule of orientation deducible. The width of the enclosure (exclu- 
sive of the 2 feet 6 inches thickness of the walls) averages about 45 feet. The western 
half is occupied by cross-walls, dividing the enclosure into chambers. The eastern half 
is free from buildings, except for a circle of small stones about 1 foot 6 inches high, 
set on end on a platform of beaten mud raised about a foot above the rock Unlike 
any other stone circle I know of, the stones are cemented together with mud. About 
a third of the circumference of the circle is left open. There are distinct marks of fire, 
both smoke-blackening and heat -splintering, especially on the end stone of the curve 
at the eastern side. 

In connection with the description of this enclosure, it is well to notice a con- 
siderable number of small rounded pillar stones which have been found all through the 
excavation. Most of them are found in the lower strata, but some were unearthed 
quite close to the surface. The largest and finest seems to be associated with the burial 
cave, to which a later section of this report is devoted, and it will there be described. 
The others are all small, not more than 1 foot 6 inches or, perhaps, 2 feet high, and 1 
foot 6 inches in diameter; they are circular in section, and resemble the drums of 
rather crude columns more than anything else: it is quite evident, however, that they 
serve no constructional purpose, and there can be little doubt that they are masseboth 
or baetylic pillars, like the stone anointed by Jacob at Bethel. 

Near the north end of the first trench was found a large standing stone on the rock, 
untooled, 7 feet 6 inches high and 4 feet 10 inches broad. It was kept in an upright 
position by two smaller stones wedged under it. I have little doubt, however, that it 
was originally set in position by the first city occupants. The flint implements 
found in. such profusion in the sites already excavated in Palestine, reappear at Gezer 
with the like frequency. 

Corn was ground in three ways: by mortars and pestles, by rubbing stones, and by 
quern-stones. 

By the term "cooking-dishes" I denote a peculiar type of shallow circular bowl, 
about 1 foot in diameter, raised on three legs. One specimen was found, in fragments, 
but almost entirely recovered; another whose legs had been lost was also found, as well 
as fragments of the legs of others. The type persisted to the Seleucidan period, for a 
specimen was found at Tell Sandahannah blackened with smoke. 

There is more variety and interest in the objects of copper and bronze than in 
those of stone. The majority are arrow-heads, javelin -heads, pins, needles, and spa- 
tulas. Tweezers and fibula? are also found, as well as an occasional ring, but armlets 
are entirely absent. 

The arrow-heads are all of the leaf -shaped type, with a tang square in section and 
slightly tapering; barbed arrow-heads are unknown, as are also types with a cylin- 
drical tang. 

The javelin -heads are distinguished from the arrow-heads by being of greater size, 
but otherwise they are similar. The blades, however, are narrower in proportion, 



Gezer 



267 



and in several there is a distinct central rib. as well as thickening at the edges of the 
blade. The tangs are ah square in section, slightly swelling at the base into stop-knobs; 
in one example there is a suspicion of lateral flanges. 

A fine copper javelin-head, found in the third city, is deserving of special mention. 
It is unlike all the others in having no tang. The blade, which is 10.3 cm. long, is 
tapering, a flat oval in section, with a very faint suggestion of a central rib at the base. 

Spear-head. — One magnificent spear-head of bronze was discovered in the exca- 
vation. The blade is flat and triangular, with abrupt basal angles; a short, flat, tapering 
tang is attached. The length of this spear-head is 17.4 cm. It belongs to the second 
city. 

Pins can be classified into two divisions — round shanked and square -shanked; 
the former slightly predominate. 

Xeedles. — Xeedles are capable of classification according to the position of the eye. 
Two well-marked types have been found in considerable numbers : in the first the top of 
the shank is bent, like a shepherd's crook, into an oval eye; in the second the eye is 
cast on the shank at some point midway between the head and tip. Not more than one 
example could be found of the third possible form in which the eye is drilled (on a slight- 
ly hammered part of the shank) after the needle has been made. 

Of knives I can produce but one specimen, it is 11.4- cm. long, having a flat blade, 
square tipped, with slightly concave edges and prominent shoulders; and a tapering 
flat tang, looped round at right angles to the plane of the face of the knife to form a 
handle. 

Four magnificent copper axe-heads complete the series of objects under this head- 
ing of special interest so far discovered. 

In excavating the pre-Israelite cities of Gezer we are working in remains of the 
bronze age. and iron in any considerable quantity is not to be expected. At all depths 
were found numerous small nodules of meteoric iron, perhaps preserved as amulets; 
but worked iron was confined almost to the surface and to the outside of the city 
wall. The iron objects from outside the wall were all arrowheads, probably the relics 
of the siege of the city by Egyptians, or some other iron-using invaders; those from 
inside were nails, armlets, and nondescript fragments of any date, possibly modern. 

The only exceptions to this law of the distribution of iron were: — )i) A distorted 
iron bracelet, from a depth of two feet. (2) The blade of a knife, much corroded, 
from 3I/2 feet. (3) Fragment of a large nail, from a depth of 5 feet. (4) Fragment 
of an arrowehad, from a depth of 5 feet. 

Many animal bones were found throughout the trenches. Xone (like the hippo- 
potamus bones from Tell el-Hesy) were at all exceptional or unexpected; all belonged 
to the animals which are still commonest in the district. In large numbers were camel, 
sheep, cow, horse, and ass bones; less common were those of gazelle, dog, and jackal; 
rarer still — no doubt on account of their minuteness and their perishable nature — 
were those of the rodents, hare, jerboa,, and rat. The wild boar was represented by 
one tusk. Unworked bird bones were rare, for a reason similar to that accounting for 
the scarcity of rodent bones. 

That in early times the dead were buried within the city walls is shown not onlv 
by the burial cave of the most ancient inhabitants, but also by the occurrence of skele- 
tons among the house-walls of the upper strata. These seem to show that in late 
pre-Israelite (and early Jewish?) times the dead were buried, not only within the 



268 



Gezer 



city, but even within the houses. There were no special grave deposits found with 
the skeletons. 

About 140 feet south of the great city wall, in the first trench excavated, the 
workmen found an oval sinking in the rock-surface, its long axis lying about north- 
east and south-west, and between 13 and 14 feet long. Walls of the third city had been 
built over and concealed it. On clearing out the earth, steps leading downwards 
were uncovered, one by one, terminating in the foundations of a ruined wall that 
had been built across the mouth of a ruined cave to which the steps gave ac- 
cess. This cave proved on examination to have been artificially excavated, as pick- 
marks were visible on the wall all round. It consists of one chamber of a maximum 
length (east to west) of 31 feet, breadth of 24 feet 6 inches, and height running from 2 
feet at the south to 5 feet at the east. There are two entrances: that with steps, just 
mentioned, at the south-west corner; and, at the east end, a shaft in the roof, which I 
afterwards opened, roughly circular, about 3 feet 6 inches in diameter, and stopped 
by a great stone, 5 ft. 5 in. x 4 ft. 7 in. x 8 in. thick, lying on the surface of the rock. 

The people who used the cave as a crematorium were followed by others who em- 
ployed it for inhumation. It is possible that these were the inhabitants of the third city. 

The human remains are in two series, burnt and unburnt. The former are the 
older, as they form a layer beneath the unburnt stratum, extending under the stone 
platforms on which the bodies buried in graves are placed. 

The calcined bones are the remains of a large number of persons (how many it 
was impossible to determine, as they were all broken and their fragments mixed) form- 
ing a solid stratum, in places over a foot in thickness. They had been trampled and 
spread when the grave mounds were built. The soft parts, as well as the bones, had 
been burnt, for fragments of burnt hyoid bones in the debris furnished presumptive 
evidence that at any rate the soft parts of the neck had been consumed. There seemed 
to be one centre of combustion, but its section showed that the fire had been successively 
renewed, probably at considerable intervals, as even here the bones were not equally 
burned, and strata of blackened bone alternated with masses reduced to a white ash. 

The remains were of persons of all ages. The bones of at least twelve newly-born 
infants were identified, scattered through the mass. There were also fragments repre- 
senting more than a score of children between one and eight years of age, and about as 
many adolescents between nine and twenty-five years. The rest were adults. An 
attempt to determine the number of these, by collecting and classifying the fragments, 
showed that there were at least fifty, and probably even more, of both sexes, the females 
slightly preponderating. 

Neither skulls nor long bones were sufficiently preserved to be of use for measure- 
ment, but it was possible, by carefully grouping the fragments, to obtain some data 
for a general estimate of stature, and of cranial shape and size. From these observations 
it appears that the bones were those of a people of a slender build and small, but not 
dwarfish, stature. None exceeded 5 feet 7 inches, and most were under 5 feet 4 inches. 

The limbs were slender but muscular, none of the humeri were perforated, a few 
tibiae were slightly platycnemic, and a few femora platymeric, but none pilastered. 
The cranial shape was an elongated oval, fairly well arched longitudinally, but rather 
flat-sided, with a length-breadth index somewhere between 72 and 75. The skull bones 
were thick and heavy. 

This information is not sufficiently definite to correlate this ancient people with 
any of the known Mediterranean races. 



Gezer 



269 



The nnhnrnt bones were in two series. The majority formed a more or less uni- 
form laver spread out on the cave floor, over, and extending beyond, the area of crema- 
tion. A smaller number were laid on stone platforms within the several grave enclo- 
sures. 

The former represented a much larger number of adult bodies than the burnt series, 
with a proportional number of those of immature age ; but their condition of comminu- 
tion and scattering was equally unsatisfactory. The whole mass was riddled 
with the burrows of rats, and the cancellous parts of almost all the bones had been des- 
troyed. From the observations and measurements taken, it was clear that these be- 
longed to a race taller than the cremated folk. The average male stature was some- 
where about 5 feet 6 inches (but some few rose as high as 5 feet 1 1 inches) ; the female 
stature was about 5 feet 3 inches. They were a stronger, larger-boned people than their 
predecessors, with pilastered femora, platycnemic tibise, and with the articular sur- 
faces of ankle, knee, and hip. showing those increased areas of flexion which are associated 
with the habitual assumption of the squatting position when resting. Their skulls were 




PLATE OF SKULLS 

larger, of thinner bones, distinctly pentagonoid. both when viewed from above and 
from behind. As nearly as we could estimate, the average length-breadth index 
ranged about 78. The faces were longer, with fairly prominent noses and rounded chins. 
The teeth were large and well spaced. In one or two female jaws there was a tendency 
to alveolar prognathism. 

These general characters seem to correlate these people with the Semitic stock, 
rendering it probable that the}" were part of the earliest wave of Semitic immigration 
that of the primitive Amorites. 

At one point were three crania — one nearly perfect, the second had lost its facial 
part, and the third was still more fragmentary. The first, of which photographs are 
appended, was that of a female adult about 30 years of age. Its length-breadth index 
is 75, height-length index 78; index of jaw projection is 96, orbital index 82, and 
nasal index 54. The skull is that of a Semite, probably of a better class than that of 
the ordinary Amorite fellah, although it shows one character which is sometimes regard- 
ed as one of inferiority — viz.. a fronto-temporal suture in each pterion. 

The second skull is also that of a male, wider than the former at the parietal emi- 
nences, but narrower at the forehead ; symmetrically pentagonal, with a length-breadth 
index oi 79.7. The third is metopic, but of much the same shape, with an index about 7 7 . 



270 



Gezer 



In another grave were the fragments : — ( i ) Of a male skeleton represented only by a 
few bones; (2) of a female whose skull was rounded, pentagonoid, with a broad, short 
forehead, and an index estimated at about 78. 

There was no reason to suppose that those buried in the graves differed in race 
from those of the unburnt stratum. 

About five skeletons were found in a fragmentary condition at different parts of 
the city. These presented the same general characters as those of the unburnt stratum 

Throughout the cave — in the bone debris on the floor, inside the grave enclosures, 
and built into the walls surrounding them — were scattered a large collection of food 
vessels of different kinds. As these were nearly all perfect, or almost so, the collection 
is particularly valuable for the study of the earliest pottery of Palestine. 

The latter excavation has extended the history of the mound both forward and back- 
ward, one period being found preceding, and two succeeding the four represented on 
the Eastern Hill. There are thus seven strata of remains at present known. These 
may be described as follows, proceeding downwards from surface to rock. 

Stratum VII. — A city resembling, but on the whole probably slightly earlier than the 
upper stratum at Tell Sandahannah. The principle of the arch has been learnt, as is 
shown by a ruined vaulted cistern (like a similar structure found at Tell Zakariya,of 
about the same period). This structure is built of the squared brick-like blocks of lime- 
stone, such as was found in some parts of the acropolis of Tell Zakariya, and was the uni- 
versal building material at Tell Sandahannah, if anything slightly ruder, and with less 
extensive evidence of direct Greek influence. Iron is the regular metal; bronze is 
used for ornaments only, and is uncommon; flint is rare. 

Stratum VI. — Rude house-walls of field-stones set in mud (so throughout the re- 
maining strata). Jar -handles with "Royal stamps" are found. This stratum is the 
upper limit of lamp and bowl deposits under the foundations of buildings, such as have 
been found in all the other tells. Iron is used, but bronze and flint are both much more 
common in proportion than in stratum VII. 

Stratum V. — The pottery is transitional between pre-Israelite and Jewish types. 
Lamp and bowl deposits first appear in this stratum. I assume a connection between 
the uppermost stratum on the Eastern Hill and the third stratum from the surface in 
the Central Valley, because these remarkable deposits appear in each for the first time 
in their respective portions of the tell. Iron is only just beginning to be used; bronze 
is the regular metal, but flints (generally rude flakes) are used in great abundance. 

Strata IV-III. — Two successive strata which cannot easily be distinguished except 
by the superposition of the foundations of their house-walls. The pottery types are 
much the same in both — rather early pre-Israelite. Scarabs of the Egyptian Middle 
Empire, and jar -handles stamped with scarab-like seals, are found, especially in stratum 
IV. Bronze is the only metal used, but fine flint knives are the most usual tools. 

The great temple in the Central Valley occupies both these strata. 

Stratum II. — The remains of this stratum are as yet very scanty. It is charac- 
terized by very rude pottery, and apparently an entire absence of metal — I say appar- 
ently, for it is not always easy to dissociate strata II and III, and their respective ob- 
jects, one from another. With this stratum I associate the cremated remains in the 
first burial cave. 

Stratum I. — The occupation represented by certain troglodyte dwellings, artifi- 
cially cut in the hill-top, underneath the temple. They are characterized by absence 
of metal, by rude flint and bone implements, and by very roughly-made porous pot- 



Gezer 



271 



tery. Strata I and II are probably contemporary, or at any rate continuous, the 
culture of both being similar. 

"We are not without indications whereby approximate dates can be assigned to these 
strata. Among the objects found in VII was a small slab of red sandstone, apparently 
the bottom of a box, of which the sides have been chipped away ; the back hah has also 
been lost. Its present length is 4 \^ inches, its breadth 3 3 3 inches, its present thickness 
1 *4 inches. Round the vertical edge runs an inscription, the first character of which is 
in the middle of the front. Starting from this point the inscription reads both ways, 
symmetrically repeated, abruptly stopping at the fracture by which the back half of 
the object has been lost. 

The inscription, so far as it goes consists merely of the prenOmen and titles of a 
king. The name in the ring is B'-n-R'-ntrw-mr, which is the prenomen of NiT'wrwd 
(Xiafaaurut) I, the first king of the twenty-ninth dynasty, who reigned 399-393 B.C. 
The obiect is so portable that we cannot regard it as an absolute indication of date: 
exact chronological deductions from it would be as fallacious as are similar deductions 
from scarabs; but it supplies us with what I may term a landmark for the history of 
the seventh stratum. 

On this account I am inclined to regard the fifth stratum as the earliest Israelite 
citv on the mound — that is, the city in which the Israelites and the Chanaanites dwelt 
together, according to Joshua xvi. 10. It is. probably the city destroyed by Solomon's 
Egvptian father-in-law (1 Kings ix. 16); if so, we are able to arrive at an easy explana- 
tion of the shrinkage of the city i m mediately afterwards. Till the destruction of the 
city by the king of Egypt the Chanaanites and Israelites had dwelt together in Gezer. 
and as this fact is especially referred to in the chronicle, it is probable that the Chanaanites 
formed a large proportion, if not the majority, of the population. When Pharaoh de- 
stroyed the city he killed all the Chanaanites : therefore, when Solomon rebuilt the city 
he had a smaller population to provide for, and did not need to build the city so large 
as it had been before. Thus I explain the fact that after the fifth stratum the Eastern 
Hill is entirely deserted, and shows no later buildings, except some Maccabaean water- 
works. 

The third and fourth occupations are undoubtedly pre-Israehte. and show the so- 
called " Amorite" civilization fully developed. The scarabs supply the only chronologi- 
cal landmarks, and these are so numerous, and their testimony is so uniform, that we 
are, perhaps, safe in accepting their evidence, and in consequence may assign a major 
date limit of 2000 -j- or — x B.C. to the epoch of these strata. The limit of variation al- 
lowed to the unknown quantity is about 200 years each way. 

An indication of the great antiquity of the troglodyte dwellings is given by the 
fact that one of them had been utilized for the purposes of the temple erected above it, 
but not till its floor had been covered with a uniform layer of earth, about three feet 
thick, silted through the entrance and roof-openings. I do not t hin k the date of these 
excavations can fall far short of 3000-2500 B.C.; the second stratum probably occupies 
a place intermediate between this date and the major date assigned to the Amorite strata. 

When first opened, the second Burial Cave had all the appearance of being a com- 
paratively uninteresting cistern; and it was not until the silted earth, with which it had 
been nearly filled, was cleared out that its curious history became apparent. 

It is a chamber cylindrical rather than bell-shaped, 20 feet 6 inches deep, and on 
the average 15 feet 3 inches in diameter, at the bottom. The entrance is a circular 
hole about 3 ft. in diameter cut in the roof rather south of its centre. . 



272 



Gezer 



I infer from the chronological indications that the original formation of the cave 
and its use as a cistern are to be ascribed to the inhabitants of the third stratum in the 



EXCAVATION OF CEZER 

SECOND BURIAL CAVE 




THE SECOND BURIAL CAVE AT GEZER— From a drawing by Mr. Macalister 

scheme set forth in the last section — that is, the second city on the Eastern Hill. If 
so, its adaptation as a burial cave must belong to the fourth stratum (third city), be- 
cause, as we shall presently see, the inhabitants of the fifth (or topmost) stratum applied 



Gezer 



273 



it to other purposes. On the rock floor of the cistern were deposited the remains of 15 
persons, and with them a number of bronze weapons. As some of these deposits lay on 
top of the silt filling the dipping-hollow, the cave must have been used as a cistern 
before it was adapted as a cemetery. 

The bodies were not cast in, or fallen in by accident, but were deposited in position 
by people who descended with them into the cave. This was shown by three indications : 
(1) no bodies lay immediately under the entrance, as would have been the case had they 
fallen in; (2) stones were laid under, round, and sometimes above them; (3) a large 
quantity of charcoal found among the bones showed that a funeral feast, sacrifice, or 
similar rite had taken place within the chamber. 

The survivors who deposited the bodies apparently attached no importance to 
their attitude or orientation. In the Plate each skeleton is drawn in the attitude in which 
it was found. The contracted attitude 
is apparently the normal (as we found 
in the first burial cave), but two were 
stretched out (8, 15), whilst one (9) 
had apparently been placed sitting 
in a squatting position — these bones 
had all fallen down in a heap — and 
another (14) seemed to have slipped 
down from leaning against the wall. 

Though disposed in an apparently 
random manner, we have seen that 
these bodies had all been carefully de- 
posited, and not cast in. This leads 
me to infer that they were all placed 
in the cave at once , and were therefore 
probably the victims of a single catas- 
trophe, whether an accident, a pesti- 
lence, or a battle — more probably one 
of the two last -mentioned, for all 
probable fatal accidents would certain- 
ly have left traces, such as fractures 
or charring on some of the bones. The 
cave is, unlike the first cave, so inconvenient to enter, that I can hardly imagine its 
being employed on several successive occasions. Had it been used as a common 
cemetery, we have learnt enough of pre-Israelite methods of interment to know that 
bodies of both sexes would have been cast in indiscriminately, and would have been 
found in a haphazard heap at the bottom. But the chief problem presented by the 
cave lies in the extraordinary circumstances attending the single female interment. 
The body had been cut in two just below the ribs, and the upper half was alone de- 
posited in the cave. 

Obviously the explanation of the condition of this skeleton turns primarily on the 
question whether the mutilation was ante or post mortem. If post mortem, we have 
evidently to deal with a burial custom in some degree analagous to that illustrated by 
Dr. Petrie's discoveries at Naqada. But this explanation involves serious difficulties. 
So far as I can recollect, the Naqada bodies, though mutilated, were entirely buried — 
that is to say, the several members were deposited with the rest of the remains. In the 




THE FEMALE SKELETON FROM THE SECOND 
UBRIAL CAVE OF GEZER 



274 



Gezer 



Gezer example, however, the lower half of the bod}' was certainly otherwise disposed 
of, and was not to be found anywhere in the burial chamber. Further, it would be 
impossible to explain why one body only out of 15 was thus treated. If the mutilation 
was ante mortem, two possible explanations are forthcoming: we have to deal with the 
victim of a murder, or of a sacrifice. The last seems to be the more satisf actor}'. Had 
the case been simply one of murder, of a peculiarly savage and clumsy character, most 
probably both halves of the body would have been got rid of by depositing them to- 
gether. But in a case of sacrifice it is quite conceivable that the missing half might have 
been disposed of in some other manner. It might, for instance, have been burnt, or 
even — so persistent are the survivals of savagery in natural religion, even when a com- 
paratively civilized condition has been attained — ceremonially eaten. 

In describing the first burial cave I laid stress on the fact that one of the interments 
consisted of an infant buried in a large jar, and argued that this individual infant was 
so treated because it had been sacrificed. It occurred to me that at the time possibly 
the pre-Israelite Semites thought it necessary to inaugurate a cemetery by a sacrifice : the 
evidence afforded by the second burial cave seems, if not to confirm, at least to strength- 
en, this theory. I must admit, however, that in another cave opened near the tem- 
ple, where there were two or three interments, I found no trace of sacrifice; and also 
that there seems no convincing evidence forthcoming in Palestine of the very much com- 
moner inauguration of buildings by human sacrifice. 

The discovery of the temple is by far the most important yet made on the tell. 

The temple consists essentially of the following members: — 

(1) The sacred cave. 

(2) The alignment of pillar-stones. 

(3) The socket for the Asherah. 

(4) The temple area. 

(5) The boundary wall. 

(1) The sacred cave is that which I have already described as the first troglodyte 
dwelling, and it is a testimony to the antiquity of this excavation that its artificial 
nature and original purpose seem to have been forgotten before it was appropriated by 
the priests of the temple. Indeed, over all its area the rains have washed in earth, 
covering its floor to a depth of 3 feet. 

The evidence that it had been utilised in connection with the temple worship 
was two-fold. In the first place an infant's skeleton, similar to those buried in jars in 
the temple area immediately above the cave, was found on a large stone, lying on the 
surface of the earth spread over the deposits of the ancient troglodytes. In the 
second, a narrow passage was cut connecting the two caves. 

(2) The Alignment. — This superb megalithic structure consists of a row of seven 
monoliths, with an eighth standing apart, and flanked by stumps of two others at the 
northern end. They stand with their feet raised at an average height of 3 feet above 
the rock. A platform of stones, about 8 feet wide, at the northern end, but narrower 
at the southern, runs under and around them, and helps to support the stones in an 
upright position. The seventh stone, when found, had fallen forward at an angle of 
about 60 degrees, and the eighth was prostrate; I have had them re-erected on their 
original positions. The following is a description of each stone separately. 

The heights of the feet of the stones are referred to a horizontal plane running 
through the foot of the second stone, which is itself raised 2 feet 9 inches above the rock. 
The order adopted in the following list is from south to north : — 



Gezer 



275 



I. Height, 10 feet 2 inches; breadth, 4 feet 7 inches; thickness, 2 feet 6 inches; 

height of foot, 1 foot 5 inches. A massive monolith, hewed to a roughly square section. 

H. Height, 5 feet 5 inches; breadth, 1 foot 2 inches; thickness, 1 foot 9 inches; 

distance from I. 7 feet 1 inch; height of foot, o. This is the smallest and most insigni- 
ficant stone in the series, but it is possibly the most important. The upper end has been 
worked to a sharp point. By polished surfaces it shows plain evidence, lacking in all 
the other stones, of having been kissed, anointed, rubbed, or otherwise handled on the 
top by worshippers. 

III. — Height, 9 feet 7 inches;" breadth, 5 feet; thickness, 2 feet; distance from II. 
11 feet 8 inches; height of foot, 1 foot 9 inches. An irregular monolith, similar to I. 
though less shapely and less massive There is a cup-mark on the western face. 

IV. — Height, 10 feet 9 inches; breadth, 3 feet 7 inches; thickness, 2 feet 3 inches; 
distance from III., 3 feet 2 inches; height of foot, 9 inches. This stone has been care- 
fully shaped to a rounded form, and there can be little doubt that it disproves the gen- 
eral conclusion of Appendix F in 
Robertson Smith's "Religion of the 
Semites" (second edition, 1894). 

The tops of these stones (Nos. 
III., IV.) projected above the sur- 
face of the ground, and formed the 
indications that led me to excavate 
on this part of the site. The top 
of I. was also slightly uncovered, 
but so little was visible that there 
was nothing to show that it was 
not a small surface boulder. 

V. — Height. 5 feet 10 inches; 
breadth, 1 foot 7 inches; thickness, 
2 feet 1 inch ; distance from IV. , 3 
feet 7 inches; height of foot, 1 foot 
8 inches. A small stone, not 

VI. — Height, 7 feet; breadth, 2 feet 8 inches; thickness, 1 foot 6 inches; distance 
from V.. 4 feet 1 inch; height of foot, 9 inches. 

VII— Height, 7 feet 3 inches; breadth, 2 feet 10 inches; thickness, 1 foot 3 inches; 
distance from VI., 4 feet 7 inches; height of foot, 7 inches. A much-weathered slab. 
On the western face a shallow, curved groove, with the concavity downward, has been 
cut. 

VIII. — Height. 7 feet; breadth, 1 foot, 7 inches; thickness, 1 foot 4 inches; distance 
from VII,. 17 feet 11 inches; height of foot, 9 inches. A well-shaped stone, rounded, 
and like IV.; no doubt a simulacrum Priapi. Flanking it on each side are two small 
stumps of columns, which are remains of larger stones like the rest : the top of each shows 
fracture. This stone is unique among the group, in standing in a vat -like socket cut for 
it out of a single foot-stone built into the platform. On the western face are cut a couple 
of cup-marks and grooves. 

That this last stone is a subsequent addition to the series is, I think, evident: 
(1) from its distance from them; (2) from the special care which has been spent on its 
formation, a care not to be traced in any of the other monoliths; (3) from its peculiarity 
in standing in a stone socket; and (4) from its disturbing the number of seven columns, 




THE PILLAR-STONES OF GEZER — From photograph 
by Dr. Hecjl 

unlike II. in shape, but longer and thicker. 



271 i 



Gezer 



which almost unquestionably was the perfect number of sacred stones at holy sites. 
But we can, I think, go further than this, and assert that the rest of the alignment is 
probably not all the work of one period. 

Immediately south of the first stone another monolith is lying prostrate. It is 
6 feet 2 inches long, and lies under and partly concealed by the southern end of the 
platform and the earth underlying it. Its length is 6 feet 2 inches, and it base is 1 
foot 1 inch below the base of the second stone. This stone is probably a surviving relic 
of an earlier temple on the same spot. 

The whole alignment is not straight, but stands in a fairly regular, gentle curve, 
with the concavity facing westward. The chord of this curve lies approximately 
north and south. 

(3) The Asherah, or wooden pole, seems to have been an essential part of the equip- 
ment of a Chanaanitish holy site (Rel. Sem., p. 187, et seq.). After carefully considering 
, . all possibilities, I am in- 

clined to regard a re- 
markable socketed stone 
standing on the platform 
iMSg*' (,.'•■.. .1 level (but not on the 

platform, which is in- 
terrupted all round it) 
between Monoliths V. and 
VI. and immediately west 
of them, as the basis on 
which the Asherah of the 
Gezer temple was erected. 
The stone is beautifully 
squared, 6 feet 1 inch 
long (north to south), 5 
feet broad, 2 feet 6 inches 
thick. The socket is also 
well squared, 2 feet 10 
inches long, 1 foot 11 
inches broad, 1 foot 4 
inches deep. A curved 
groove is cut in the rim 
of the stone west of the 
hole. This stone is not an altar, certainly not for sacrifice by fire, for no trace of fire 
can be detected upon it, and it would be very difficult to keep a fire alight in the 
hole. Nor does it appear to have been intended to contain any liquid, as the socket 
is not plastered, and evaporation and absorption would rapidly empty the receptacles. 
The hole, it is true, seems too large for receiving a wooden pole of any likely size, but 
presumably wedges were driven in, in order to keep the pole in an upright position. 

The stratum of earth underlying the floor of the temple area proved to be a cemetery 
of infants deposited in large jars. The jars were large, two-handled, pointed-bottom 
vesssels, like those found by Petrie in Tell el-Hesy. The body was usually put in 
head first, and generally there were two or three smaller vessels — usually a bowl and a 
jug — deposited either inside the jar between the body and the mouth of the vessel, or 
else outside and in the neighborhood. None of these smaller vessels contained or- 




JAR CONTAINING AN INFANT'S BONES FROM GEZER — Macalister 
(The rule in the photograph is one foot in length) 



Gezer 



277 



ganic remains or other deposits, and no ornaments or other objects were deposited 
with the bodies. The large jars were all badly cracked, and none of them could be 
even partially rescued. All were nlled with earth, covering the bone and potter}- de- 
posits, but whether the earth was put in at the time of burial, or washed in after- 
wards I could not certainly decide from the indications afforded; there is reason, how- 
ever, for believing that it was put in at the time of burial. 

Two of the bodies had been burnt ; in the others no sign of fire could be detected. 
So far as these excessively delicate bones could be examined no evidence was found 
that the bodies were mutilated in any way; and if, as Robertson Smith argues, effusion 
of blood was normally avoided in human sacrifice, it is probable that the victims were 
suffocated — perhaps smothered in the earth with which the jars were filled. For that 
we have here to deal with infant sacrifices is. I think, so self-evident that it may be 
assumed without argument. 

The infants were all newly born — certainly none were over a week old. This 
shows that the sacrifices were not offered under stress of any special calamity, or at the 
rites attaching to any special season of the year, for assuredly some occasion Y\"ould arise 
when a new-born child was not to be found, and an older child would be sacrificed, 
whose remains would then be found with the rest. The special circumstance which 
led to the selection of these infants must have been something in the victims them- 
selves, which devoted them to sacrifice from the moment of birth. Among various 
races various circumstances are-regarded as sufficient reasons for infanticide — deformity, 
the birth of twins. &c. — but among the Semites the one cause most likely to have been 
effective was the sacrosanct character attributed to primogeniture; and it is, therefore, 
most probable that the infants found buried in jars in the temple of Gezer were sacri- 
ficed first-born children. 

Pr im itive Amorite City Wall. — An earth bank, faced with small stones — the di- 
mensions nowhere more than i o inches or i foot, not dressed except by spalling with a 
hammer, and set in hard, compact mud. The joints are not filled with smaller stones. 

Second Wall. — Large, irregular hammer-trimmed stones, ranging from i foot 
7 inches to 2 feet in length and height, roughly chipped to shape. Joints very wide 
and nearly all packed with smaller stones. 

Third "Wall. — Masonry similar to the last, but the stones less roughly brought to 
shape. Joints wide (narrower than in second wall) , and where necessary, packed with 
limestone chippings. One foot 6 inches is a frequent dimension. Vertical joints running 
through two or three courses frequent. The coursing is not quite regular. A few stones 
perhaps show marks of a pocking-tool, but the majority have been subjected to no 
dressing but that of the hammer. There are some comer-stones in a tower, however, 
which show marks of a 2-inch chisel. These stones are of a large size; one of them 
measures 4 feet 10 inches in length. 1 foot 4 inches in breadth. 1 foot 7 inches in height. 

Solomonic Additions to Third Wall. — The coursing is less random than in the orig- 
inal wall; the stones used are longer and shallower (2 feet long by 1 foot high, or approxi- 
mately so, is a common dimension). The mud with which the joints are filled is more 
homogeneous, and shows fewer limestone chippings. There are some stones which 
possibly display marks of a chisel, but I am inclined to doubt this. In the square tower 
at the north-east comer the comer-stones are well-cut. squared blocks, with drafted faces, 
having a projecting boss in the centre. This square tower is. on the whole, the 
best example of building yet found in the early part of the tell. The dimensions of 
the stones ma}- be illustrated by the measurements of one of these — 3 feet 6 inches by 



27S 



Gezer 



2 feet by i foot 9 inches. They are dressed with a f-inch chisel. The rest of the 
tower is rather rough rubble. 

Wall of Bacchides. — The towers of this wall show the peculiarity of having every 
large stone carefully packed round with smaller chips — like the "galleting" of English 
masons. This characteristic has not been found elsewhere on the tell. 

House Walls. — One description will suffice for all periods. They consist of common 
field stones, among which dressed stones — even at corners and doorposts — are of the 
rarest possible occurrence. The joints are wide and irregular, and filled with mud 
packed in the widest places with smaller stones. If anything, the older walls are pos- 



EXCAVATION OF CEZER*. FOUNDATION SACRIFICE 




THE "FOUNDATION SACRIFICE" ACCORDING TO MR. MACALISTER 

sibly built of smaller stones than those belonging to later strata, but no definite rule 
can be laid down. A common dimension is about 1 foot 6 inches. 

While on the subject of child-sacrifice I may refer to an important series of discov- 
eries made at the south end of the trench which has been occupying my attention during 
the quarter. This consists in infant's bones built under or into ordinary house-walls: 
some six or eight examples have been found. This phenomenon is confined to the 
Jewish strata, and has not as yet been found in any other part of the tell. Here we 
have for the first time in Palestine clear evidence of sacrifice at the foundation of a build- 
ing — a practice that has been found in India, New Zealand, Borneo, Siam, Japan, 
Fiji, Mexico, Bosnia, Germany, Denmark, and the British Islands: witness the legend 
of Vortigern, who could not finish his castle till he had bathed the foundation stone in 
blood 



Gezer 



279 



In the second stratum was found the first example of an adult human foundation 
sacrifice as yet discovered on the site. This was the skeleton of a woman of advanced 
age. deposited in a hollow under the corner of a house. The body was lying on its back, 
the legs being bent up (but not doubled) ; at the head was a small bowl, and between the 
femora and tibiae a large two-handled jar — no doubt food- vessels. Pathologically the 
skeleton had some interest, the right arm and shoulder having been distorted by some 
rheumatic affection. 

The Xeolithic cave-dwellers were the first inhabitants who have left traces of a 
settled occupation on the hills. 

Their dwellings were normallv caves, hollowed in the soft limestone of which the 
hill is formed. About 15 of these have been opened and cleared. The majority were 
probably natural hollows, such as abound in the hills of the neighborhood, though most 
of them were, no doubt, enlarged to adapt them for use. -Almost all have a staircase 
cut in the rock at the entrance — usually so narrow as to admit one person at a time only, 
and composed of rude steps of about 1 foot tread and 6 inches rise. 

The religion of the Xeolithic troglodytes is. naturally, a subject as obscure as it is 
interesting. Of their actual religious beliefs we may form some idea by analogy with 
better-known tribes on the same general level of culture. That they were in the 
matriarchal stage of social evolution is highly probable, and if so we might expect their 
religious ideas to be those peculiar to that stage: that is to say. the conception of a 
ba'al divinity (to employ, for convenience. Semitic nomenclature) would be either not 
yet evolved, or inchoate. The comparative scarcity of objects typical of the ba.'al 
principle among the cave deposits seems to be corroborative of this theoretical view. 
That they have practised cremation is attested by the discover}," of their crematorium, 
and that they had a belief in the continued post-mortem existence of the individual 
is shown by the number of food- vessels there deposited for the use of the deceased. 

Some remarks may be made on the daily life of the troglodytes. The domestic 
animals that can certainly be associated with them are the sheep, cow, pig. and goat ; 
with less assurance the camel and donkev. The bones of these, and also of such birds 
as the stork, were fashioned into implements, especially pins and prickers, probably 
for perforating skins. Whether wool was spun is a question depending on the explan- 
ation of certain stone rings (found in all the strata), usually from 1 inch to tj inches 
in diameter, and with a perforation in the centre about i inch across. These may be 
spindle- whorls ; but they may also be rude beads for personal adornment. Nothing 
else for the latter purpose has been found, if we except highly-colored cockle-shells of 
various species, such as abound on the sandy coast at Jaffa. These are nearly all per- 
forated near the hinge of the shell by the action of the sea and the small stones of the 
shore : the perforation was no doubt utilized for suspension or threading the shells. 

Grindstones show that the people practised agriculture of a sort, and were ac- 
quainted with the art of com-grinding. The rotary grinder is unknown, the rubbing- 
stone being the variety found. No stores of grain have yet been found in anv of the 
caves. 

Water seems to have been boiled in the crude savage way, by dropping heated 
stones into it. In ever}- cave opened small round stones, each about the size of a man's 
fist, have been found in considerable numbers, probably to serve this purpose. 

Potter\ r was crude and rough, the vessels being all hand-made, the ware porous 
and gritty. The shapes are often not ungraceful. The surface is frequently ornamented 
by burnished lines, by moulded corded patterns, or by washes and lines of colors. The 



280 



Gezer 



color is always reddish brown or white, the latter apparently a kind of limestone cream 
applied to the surface ; it washes off in water. 

Flint was, of course, the principal material for implements, and the troglodytes 
attained great dexterity, unsurpassed by any of their successors, in flaking off fine 
long and sharp knives from the core. The edges were either left straight or were chipped 
into saws, sometimes with very prominent teeth. For the majority of purposes, however, 
this race was content with very inferior tools, and even in the caves a very fine flint 
implement is decidedly the exception. 

By the first Semitic invasion from Arabia, about 2000 B.C., the country was peopled 
with inhabitants whose physical characteristics and many of whose customs can be 
studied on the living subjects now inhabiting the villages of Palestine. The date of 
this irruption is probably rather earlier than the approximate year just named. There 
is no proof that the neolithic people had any communication with Egypt ; on the other 
hand, as we shall presently see, there is evidence that trade with Egypt was established 
in Gezer in the time of the twelth dynasty. This would place the date of Semitic be- 
ginnings in Gezer well within the third millennium B.C., from 2400 to 2700, according 
to the date adopted for the commencement of the twelth dynasty; and, of course, would 
push the period of the troglodytes yet further back. 

The village of the modern fellah, again, enables us with tolerable accuracy to re- 
construct the architecture of the ancient houses. Order, regularity, and all attempts 
at decoration are entirely absent. The streets are crooked, narrow, and many of them 
end in blank walls. The first sensation of a visitor to Jerusalem — I speak from my own 
experience — is a feeling of despair of ever being able to master the intricacies of its 
thoroughfares, but compared with the bewildering maze of Gezer streets at all periods 
of the city's history those of Jerusalem are as the rectangular blocks of a modern Amer- 
ican city. 

The late Semitic period commences with the settlement of the Hebrews in Chanaan, 
and ends with the destruction of the Hebrew monarchy. 

In treating of the history of Gezer, however, it would be misleading to speak of a 
"Hebrew" period, for it is very doubtful whether the Hebrews ever held undisputed 
possession of the city. The older account of the Hebrew immigration — that preserved 
in Judges — admits that Gezer was imperfectly occupied by the Israelites; the same ad- 
mission is made by the author of the book of Joshua. We may, therefore, assume that 
the Chanaanites surviving in the city formed a large proportion, if not the majority, of 
the population. 

Another disturbing element is introduced by the historical references to the Phil- 
istines, who are twice mentioned in connection with this town. 

I have found myself unable to unravel these three strands of population, as 
mirrored in the objects they have left behind. There is nothing that I can point to as 
definitely Chanaanite, definitely Hebrew, or definitely Philistine. 

In the post-exilic period we enter a wholly different atmosphere, due to the appear- 
ance, for the first time, of the influence of a dominant Aryan civilization. 

It is probable that the inhabitants of the city corresponding to this period would 
be found to display distinct evidence of mixture if their bones were examined. I have, 
however, not as yet found any, for the simple reason that a very important sanitary 
advance has been made, there are no more intra-mural interments. 

The houses are better laid out and built, with, on the whole, an attempt at making 
right angles in the meeting of walls. The stones are well dressed and squared, often as 



Gezer 



281 



well shaped as a modern brick. Mud, however, is still universally used instead 
of mortar. Structures that have all the appearance of being public baths show a greater 
appreciation of luxury than is to be found in any of the previous cities. 

After the Ptolemaic, Maccabean, Post-Exilic, or Seleucid period, as it has been 
variously called, the population moved off the top of the hill which it had occupied for 
some three thousand years, and settled on the site of the modern village. 

No fewer than eight successive strata of buildings were found on the Western Hill ; 
the total depth of the debris was here 38 feet 6 inches, a depth nearly 10 feet greater 
than that found elsewhere in the mound — except, of course, in the great 50-foot reservoir. 

The only noteworthy structure found in this mass of building was a granary, 12 
feet long and 5 feet across. This granary contains rather more than a ton of corn — 
nearly 600 baskets full were carried away by the basket girls. The grain in this, as in 
all other granaries uncovered, is charred. In some cases this is certainly due to a fire 
at the granary — in one example the incinerated bones of a man, presumably the pro- 
prietor, were found among the ruins. In other cases the condition of the grain is perhaps 
the result of what may be described as spontaneous combustion, which I am informed 
takes place when grain is incautiously left covered up for too long a time : a serious loss 
of this nature is said to have recently befallen an inhabitant of Beit Jibrin. 

Another granary was found at the northern end of the trench on the Eastern Hill. 
This consisted of a number of circular structures, each about 5 feet in diameter, contain- 
ing corn and kursenni — the latter a species of vetch used for camel food." 

In presenting these reports from Gezer, it is not our intention to approve all of the 
statements made. Palestine is a land of ruins and of hypotheses. Mr. Macalister's 
opinions of the ancient troglodytes or cave-dwellers is a mere hypothesis. All that he 
found may well be placed in the era of the Chanaanites, for cave-dwelling has never 
been absent from Palestine. His views concerning the skeleton of the girl found in the 
burial cave are somewhat fanciful: the skeleton was in such condition that it could not 
be ascertained that it had been cut. The only clear fact was that the lower portion 
was not there. Many possible causes could be assigned for its absence. I am not pre- 
pared to believe that the infants found in the jars were human sacrifices. We know 
that the Chanaanites and the Moabites did practice human sacrifice. Even the Jews 
burnt their children to Moloch. But it must always have been an extraordinary sacri- 
fice; and the number of jars found by Mr. Macalister are too numerous to be all taken 
as such sacrifices. Moreover, such a method of sacrificing seems so grotesque that it is 
intrinsically improbable. We can understand the burning of an infant as a holocaust; 
of the slaying of a child as Mesa of Moab did in his war against Israel ; but there is nothing 
in the placing of an infant in a jar which would suggest a mode of sacrifice. It seems 
far more probable that it was a crude manner of burial of infants widely practised in 
Chanaanite cities. Similar jars are found in all the tells explored. It is the vice of all 
explorers to exaggerate the importance of their finds. Two cuneiform tabets were found 
containing mutilated records of land contracts. They are supposed to be of the seventh 
century. Mr. Pinches suspected that the first had been brought to Gezer from Jeru- 
salem by some of the Arabs, and fraudently passed off on Mr. Macalister. 

Those who believe that the skeletons found in the walls of Gezer are foundation 
sacrifices, offered to the gods in the erection of buildings, seek confirmation of their theory 
by the text of I. (Vulg. III.) Kings xvi. 34: 

"In his days did Hiel the Bethelite build Jericho: he laid the foundation thereof 
with the loss of Abiram his firstborn, and set up the gates thereof with the loss of his 



2S2 



Gezer 



youngest son, Segub; according to the word of the Lord, which he spake by the hand of 
Joshua the son of Nun." 

This is stupid. The text clearly means that God slew the sons of Hiel for attempt- 
ing to build the city; conformably to what he had declared through Joshua, vi. 26: 

"And Joshua charged them with an oath at that time, saying: Cursed be the man 
before the Lord, that riseth up and buildeth this city Jericho: with the loss of his first- 
born shall he lay the foundation thereof, and with the loss of his youngest son shall he 
set up the gates of it." 

And yet I was obliged to sit in the Ecole Biblique of Jerusalem and hear Pere 
Vincent allege Hiel's deed as a confirmation of the supposed foundation sacrifices of 
Gezer. 

The professors of the Ecole Biblique accept every extravagant opinion of the 
German rationalists and of explorers, in their desire to be advanced. 

The last object of importance found by Mr. Macalister was ruins of a fortress which 
he believed to have been built by Simon, brother of Judas Maccabeus. He found a 
curious graffito which he interprets to be an imprecation on the fortress by one Pampra. 

On the slopes of the tell north and east, and on the hill south of it are found many 
rock-hewn graves of different epochs. Thirty-five Semitic tombs were found. 

The entrance shafts, characteristic of the earlier tombs, entirely disappear. The 
doorway is a roughly cut hole, sometimes rectangular or oval, but usually more or less 
circular, on an average 3 or 4 feet in diameter. This hole is generally horizontal, being 
cut in the roof of the chamber; a vertical doorway, cut in the side of the chamber, is 
exceptional. The entrance is never in the centre of the ceiling, but always at one 
side. It is true that in two or three instances there is a circular hole in the middle of 
the roof in addition to the normal doorway; this is always too high above the chamber 
floor to permit a person to drop through without injury, and no means of access to the 
cave through it are provided. It may have been used for lowering the body by means 
of ropes, as seems to have been done in the mediaeval charnel house in Wady er-Rababi 
at Jerusalem, the survivors who deposited tbe body entering the chamber by the ordi- 
nary entrance. 

Approach to the chamber through the entrance is effected by (a) a simple drop, 
the height of the roof being here intentionally reduced; (b) a sloping gradient down 
which it is easy to walk; or (c) three or four roughly cut steps (sometimes mere "toe- 
holds") made in the side of the chamber under the doorway. In the few cases where 
the doorway is cut in the wall, there is always a drop to the floor, the entrance being 
high up in the side of the chamber. This, indeed, will be found to be also the case in 
the subsequent periods. The doorway was closed by a pile of large rough stones, 
wedged into it, with earth covering all. Doors, whether of wood or of stone, are quite 
unknown. 

Probably the chambers are, in the main, developments of natural caves, which ac- 
count for their irregularity ; though it is true that there is not one that does not display 
some sign of quarrying upon its walls. They are generally approximately circular 
and about 20 or 30 feet in diameter. The roof is either flat or curved upward 
in a rude dome. Often a pillar (in one case two) is left in order to support the ceiling. 
In the majority of the tombs there is one chamber only, but some contain two, and a 
few three. In the last-named case the three rooms are either en suite or else the two 
inner rooms open independently from the entrance chamber. 



Gezer 



_'v; 



Formal graves cut inside the chambers are rare. They are either benches against 
the walls, or pits sunk in the floor. The benches are from i to 2 feet high, and about 3 
feet broad. Their upper surfaces are either flat or sunk slightly in the middle. In a 
few cases a shelf is cut into the wall of the chamber. "Kokim" are quite unknown. 

Another tomb on the northern slope, yielded a great quantity of potter}*, jars, 
bowls, and lamps: among them were a figure of Ashtoreth in coarse yellow ware, and a 
representation of the cow divinity in the fine potter*," commonly called " Phoenician. " 
The former of these is very crude, and hardly suitable for reproduction. 

Offerings of food, and probably of drink also, were regularly deposited with the 
dead. In most of the tombs bowls containing bones of the food-animals were found. 
In others the rite seemed dwindling to a form, to judge from the minute quantity of 
meat that the smallness of the bones seem to imply: it is not, however, safe to build any 
verv elaborate theory upon so slender a basis. That drink offerings were left may be 
assumed, though the indications are no longer so clear as in the previous group of tombs : 
in the one case where large jars were found they were lying on their sides, and the dipping 
jugs were not inside them. There were, however, in every tomb a great number of 
small jugs, resembling the dipping jugs, but placed independently and lying on their 
sides. These from their shape are obviously unsuitable for solid offerings — though it is 
true that small bones were found in one or two out of. perhaps, ever*.* 50 or 60 specimens 
— and being deposited horizontally without any stoppers could not have contained 
fluids. Possibly in this period the fluid offerings were ceremonially poured out, the 
vessel containing them being left behind in the torhb — either because the funeral use had 
consecrated it. or else from a materialistic idea of its bein? of use to the deceased. The 
enormous quantity of small vessels found in the tombs can onlv be explained as the accu- 
mulation due to many successive interments, at each of which a certain number had 
been left behind. Many of the deposited iugs were broken — a much larger proportion 
than in the earlier period: either the idea had grown up of liberating the ghost of the 
object that it might mi nister to the ghost of the deceased, to which end the vessel was 
intentionally injured . or probably the spirit of economy, which reached its culmination 
in the Christian period, had begun to make its influence felt, and damaged jugs, worth- 
less to the living, were offered to the dead. 

There is only one exclusively Maccabean cemetery around Gezer — namely, on a 
little knoll of rock south of the hill, on the summit of which is the village threshing floor. 
The remaining tombs are scattered in various places. In all. 35 of the tombs opened 
appear to be assignable to this period. Unlike the earlier tombs (the contents of which 
are less attractive to thieves, and which require more trouble to plunder as they are 
generally full of earth) the tombs of this and of the succeeding era have been greatly 
damaged in comparativeley recent years by robbers. 

The Tomb Chambers. — These are quarried with much greater art than in the pre- 
ceding periods. A fundamental difference is seen at once in the doorwavs. which are 
always vertical, cut in the side of the chamber, and never, as in the Hebrew period, 
cut in the roof. 

In the absence of roof entrances the Gezer tombs resemble the contemporary tombs 
at Jerusalem. Those at Beit Jibrin are, however, quite different. There a square shaft, 
opening in the roof of the chamber, is the normal tvpe ; it is covered bv long slabs which 
are practically unknown at Gezer. 

As the tombs are excavated in the sides of gently sloping hills, it follows that some 
device had to be adopted in order to obtain a rock-scarp high enough to contain the outer 



284 



Gezer 



face of the doorway. This is effected in one of two ways. In the small tombs that form 
the majority of the series a stairway is sunk in the rock in front of the place chosen for 
the door, from about 5 feet to about 8 feet deep, rectangular, and containing from one 
to eight steps. On the level of the lowest step the doorway is cut. By filling the stair- 
way shaft with earth the tomb can be concealed. This stairway differs from the shafts 
of Chanaanite tombs in being always rectangular, always provided with steps, and as a 
general rule shallower, longer, and narrower: the skill displayed is also much superior in 
the latter graves. 

The second method of obtaining a high rock-scarp consists in cutting a large open 
level court into the side of the hill, the depth of which, of course, gradually increases 
from front to back. This is the usual course adopted in the Jerusalem tombs.but at 
Gezer it is followed only in some half-dozen of the largest and most costly excavations. 
Above this forecourt or vestibule there was erected a monumental structure resembling 
in general character the familiar memorials in the Kidron Valley at Jerusalem. These, 
it is hardly necessary to say, have long since been pilfered, stone by stone, to build the 
tumble-down huts of ignorant and soulless fellahin. Only one was found that still 
preserved any of the masonry — -the two foundation courses on one side. 

Doorways ai'e well cut, square (though sometimes underneath an arched recess) 
and rebated for stone covers. The cover is almost invariably a moveable flat slab, 
sometimes itself rebated, so that it fits the doorway as a glass stopper fits the neck of a 
bottle. Only in one tomb was a swinging stone door found ; and circular rolling stones 
seem to be unknown in this period, though two or three examples were found belonging 
to the next. 

The doorway being always raised so as to be just under the roof of the chamber, 
there are always three or four steps inside leading down from it to the flour. 

In all tombs of the Maccabean period the receptacles provided for the dead are 
kokim, that is, long narrow shafts running into the walls at right angles. These are 
round or (more commonly) square headed; triangular heads, as at Beit Jibrin, are un- 
known. In another respect the kokim differ in the two places: those at Beit Jibrin are 
nearly always rebated at the entrance for cover-slabs, which is not the case at Gezer. 
The kokim in the latter district do not appear to have been closed. 

Kokim, as a rule, are only adapted for one body each, though sometimes they are 
wide enough for two. At Gezer they are often singularly short, and can only have par- 
tially i - eceived the body, which must have projected into the chamber. In some cases 
pairs of adjacent kokim are, as it were, extended into the tomb chamber by a prolonga- 
tion of the partition between them in the form of a dwarf wall. 

Method of Sepulture. — This was very simple. The body, probably arrayed in a 
shroud fastened with pins, and decked with cheap ornaments, is placed at full length in 
the kok, head inwards. The pottery and other objects deposited were either placed 
with the body inside the kok, or else ranged against the wall of the chamber, or against 
the side of the bench running round the room. 

It is clear that in a tomb-chamber with nine kokim, after nine interments — or if 
the kokim were large, after 18 — the receptacles would all be filled up, and the tomb 
would be useless for future burials. Sepulture on the floor of the chamber, as in the 
ruder pre-exilic days, was never thought of in the Maccabean or Christian epochs. 
The family owning the tomb would therefore be obliged to cut new chambers, or to 
remove the remains of the earlier interments. The expense incurred in quarrying 
chambers was, in most cases, sufficient to determine them to follow the latter plan. 



Gezer 



285 



The custom of removing the bones of the dead to make room for new interments, 
though at first sight singular, is by no means confined to one period in the history of 
Palestine, or even exclusively to Palestine itself. In Cong Abbey in Galway, to mention 
but one instance, is an exact analogy: this is an ossuary chamber, where bones found in 
the course of digging graves in the overcrowded cemetery are placed. In some villages 
of Mount Lebanon an even more primitive custom prevails. There the dead are buried 
in a series of caves, which, when full, are sealed one by one. When all are thus closed, 
the first is reopened, the bones it contains are cleared out and thrown away, and the cave 
is then readv for fresh interments. The rotation occupies a sufficiently long time to allow 
for the complete decomposition of the bodies before the cave is required again. 

The bones in the Gezer caves were collected and deposited with greater or less care 
in the stone chests, which are well known under the name of "ossuaries." 

The Christian tombs are almost all concentrated to the south of the modern village 
— an indication that this was the dwelling place of the community to which they belonged. 
They are clustered in great numbers on the hill slope under the great cave known as 
Mugharet el-Jaihah. In all 38 tombs of this period have been examined. 

The Tomb Chambers. — In general design these do not differ greatly from those of 
the previous period, and save for the following points of difference the description al- 
ready given would apply to these also. The great forecourt is not found, nor are there 
any traces of memorial buildings, except in one example, which is in other respects 
anomalous. In one or two cases the roof, instead of being flat, is vaulted. In three 
cases there is or was a small rolling stone closing the door. The main distinction between 
Maccabean and Christian tombs, however, lies in the substitution of arcosolia for kokim. 
A few Christian interments were found in tombs with kokim, but the distinction is usually 
so sharply maintained that in ever}- case the Christian burials are probably secondary 
adaptations of Maccabean tombs, the previous occupants having been unceremoniously 
cleared out. 

The body wrapped in a shroud, was laid at full length on the arcosolitun. There 
was obviously no account taken of orientation, as the arcosolia themselves point in all 
directions: the same remark, of course, applies to kokim. Though at one end there is 
almost always a slightly raised step or bench, meant as a support for the head of the 
corpse, the interment is sometimes so carelessly performed that the feet rest upon it. 

The difficulty which led to the invention of ossuaries was sobred in a different 
manner in the Christian tombs, where (at Gezer. though not at Jerusalem 1 ossuaries are 
quite abandoned. In tombs with arcosolia either the bodies were piled one above another 
on each bench till they could hold no more, so that a receptacle meant for two might 
possibly be made to bear five or six: or else one of the arcosolia was set aside to serve 
the purpose of an ossuary, and all the dried bones piled up upon it without anv attempt 
at arrangement or order. 

Possibly the Syrian occupation of the city under Bacchides is responsible for a 
figurine of Ashtoreth from one of the Maccabean tombs, displaying a conception of the 
mother-goddess no less crude than we find in pre-exilic strata. No other trace of Ash- 
toreth worship has been found in post-exilic Gezer: an analogous, but much more refined, 
statuette was discovered in a contemporary tomb at Sandahannah 

In the Christian tombs religious emblems are less common than might have been 
expected. Figures of crosses are confined to the ornamentation of lamps, and have not 
been found independently. Two seal-rings in bronze are the most interesting 
objects from Christian tombs. They bear a male and a female head respectively. 



2S6 



Amwas-Nicopolis 



There can be little doubt that the former represents our Lord; the second, probably, is 
meant for the Virgin Mary. The tomb-deposits which included the first of these were 
dated by a coin* about 350 A.D. 

We rode east from Tell Gezer to the Trappist monastery at Latroun We reached 
the Monastery at sunset ; and found a generous hospitality. They have a grand domain 
here. They have bought much land, and by their industry they have changed the desert 
into the most beautiful garden. They raise fine grapes for wine, grain, fruits, cattle, 
sheep, goats, and fowl; they are also commencing the silk- worm industry. Their plan- 
tation is rich and beautiful, and shows what Palestine might become by rightly directed 
industry. The life of the Trappist is most austere. They arise at two o'clock after 
midnight. They sleep in their habits on a board. They never speak except when 
absolutely necessary. Their fasts and abstinences are frightful. But they are a grand 
body of men, noble, humble, sincere, strong. They love to see the traveler eat the 
choice food which their industry has won from nature; and which they forbear to 
taste. We met none of the Trappists, except the Superior, the refectorian, and the 
sacristan. The others moved about as mutes. But there was a deep, happy expression 
on their faces showing that they were conscious that they had chosen the better part. 
In general the monks of La Trappe dedicate themselves to the cultivation of the soil and 
to contemplation. 

November 10th. — We arose a little before five, and all said Mass in the Trappist 
Church. After breakfast, we rode out to the ruined Church of Amwas-Nicopolis. 
Here we found the foundations and part of the walls of a basilica built of massive blocks 
of stone. At the side is a baptistery built in the form of a Greek cross. The ruins of 
the church as they stand to-day are of the time of the Crusades, but it is evident that 
the Crusaders built the church on the site of an ancient ruin. In fact, one can clearly 
discover what the Crusaders found of the ancient ruin on the spot. They found one 
large central apse with a smaller lateral apse on each side. The great question that now 
arises is: What was this ancient three apsed ruin? Many contend that it was a great 
Christian basilica. This is especially defended by those who wish to place the Emmaus 
of St. Luke at this place. Others contend that the ancient ruin was a Roman bath. 
The Crusaders constructed there a church, enclosing only the central apse of the old 
ruin. They run the side walls of the church built by them up to the foot of 
the arc of the ancient central apse on each side, and cut off thus the two smaller 
lateral apses. The church of the Crusaders was 35 feet wide, and 90 feet long to 
the centre of the apse, inside measurements. It was not cruciform; but consisted 
of one nave connecting with the central ancient apse. These ancient apses are 
still in a good state of preservation. Also a considerable portion of the walls built 
by the Crusaders is preserved. The masonry is massive. What the older ruin 
was it is hard to say. If it were a bath, there must have been two in the ancient 
city. For down in an orchard of fig-trees at a little distance is found a conduit 
for water made of brick which must have connected with a different bath. The positive 
indications are wanting to determine what was the nature of the ancient ruin. Men 
moved by bias try to see proofs in the most ridiculous things for their opinions. 

The nature of the ancient Roman ruin is of no great importance in its bearing on 
the site of the Emmaus of St. Luke. It is sure that Eusebius and St. Jerome were led 
by the similarity of the names Amwas and Emmaus to locate here the place where the 
risen Lord supped with the disciples. If we admit that the ancient ruin was a church, 



Amwas-Nicopolis 



L'sT 



it would only prove that in the fourth or fifth century the opinion of Eusebius and Jerome 
moved men to locate there a church. 

For my part I am inclined to believe that it was a Roman bath. Its ruins bear no 
resemblance to the ruins of churches in the East which go back to that epoch. Xo 
mention is made of this church by ancient writers. Moreover, if it had originally been 
a church, it seems to me that out of reverence the Crusaders would have restored the 
whole church ; whereas if we suppose it to have been a bath, they would have been obliged 
to change the form of it, and utilize only a portion of the massive structure, as has been 
done in the Church of Santa Maria degli Angeli built upon the Baths of Diocletian. 

The Rev. Father Barnabe, O. F. M. contends that the water conduit for the bath is 
visible in the aforesaid apse. I examined what he claims to be such conduit. It is 
impossible to identify it as such a conduit. 

The question of this ancient ruin is only a side issue. It remains in every event 
certain that the Emmaus of St. Luke can not be placed at Amwas-Nicopolis. The great 
apodictic proof of this is the distance. 

Lieutenant Conder has in his book (I. p. 14) given his adhesion to the old view 
revived by Dr. Robinson that the Emmaus of Luke xxiv. is Nicopolis, the modern 
Amwas. He does so apparently on the strength of the testimony of the Sinaitic MS., 
which in Luke xxiv. 13 reads 160 stadia. But the reading of that MS. is not sufficient 
to set aside other MS. authority, and still less to overbear the difficulties its adoption 
would create. (1) The weight of authorities is so decidedly against the Sinaitic — sup- 
ported as it is only by MSS. I. K. and N. — that even Tischendorf does not accept it, 
partial as he naturally was to that MS. with the discovery of which his name will be 
always associated. Moreover the testimony of the Sinaitic lies especially open to 
suspicion on such a point. It has been thought by many scholars not improbable that 
it is one of the MSS. of the New Testament prepared by Eusebius at the command of 
Constantine. Its peculiar arrangement of four columns on the page is one that Eu- 
sebius says characterized some of those he had prepared; while its correspondence in 
doubtful passages with the readings approved by him is very notable. That Eusebius 
of Caesarea knew Nicopolis as Emmaus of the Maccabees is certain ; as also that he knew 
it to be about 160 stadia from Jerusalem, and that he believed it to be the Emmaus of 
Luke xxiv. May he not be the author of this correction (?) on the Sinaitic, to bring it 
into agreement with the distance of that Emmaus from Jerusalem? Can the Sinaitic 
be regarded with certainty as an independent witness, and not just the Onomasticon 
over again? 

(2) The distance of Nicopolis — 160 stadia — from Jerusalem is quite incompatible 
with Luke's narrative. It implies a journey of 40 miles in one day, the second half 
after the evening meal! Such an objection would have had no weight with Eusebius. 
The deus ex machina of a miracle would have rid him of it had it been suggested. It is 
expressly stated that our Lord and the disciples had reached Emmaus (ver. 28. 29). 

(3 ) The exact language of Luke in describing the place is -equally opposed to the 
view that he intended Nicopolis. Twice in his narrative he calls it "a village;" though 
his use of ' ' city ' ' and ' ' village " by no means indicates oversight of the distinction (v hi . 1 ; 
xiii. 22). Moreover the phrase "a village called Emmaus" is one not likely to be used 
in speaking of a fortress so famous in Jewish and Roman history as Emmaus Nicopolis. 
In Mark xvi. 12, which is of undoubted value, the destination of the two disciples is 
described in the same style — "they went into the country" which would scarcely have 
been used had they been going to a well-known city. 



288 



Abou Ghosh 



(4) The force of this consideration is intensified when we look to the Maccabees and 
Josephus. In 1 Mace. iii. 40, ix. 50, we have simply "Emmaus," without any descrip- 
tion. And so throughout Josephus (e.g. Antiq. xvii. 10. 7, 9; Bell. Jud. v. 1. 6; 2. 3; 13. 1) 
Nicopolis is simply "Emmaus". Frequently, moreover, he calls is "a city" (Antiq. 
xii. 7. 3; xiv. 11. 2; Bell. Jud. iii. 3. 5). But when he speaks of Emmaus by the shore 
of the Sea of Galilee, near the " City " of Tiberias, he describes it (Antiq. xviii. 2. 3) as 
"a village named Emmaus." Again, in describing that Emmaus where a colony of 
800 of the disbanded soldiery was settled (Bell. Jud. vii. 6. 6), he calls it "a place called 
Emmaus, distant from Jerusalem 60 (or according to another reading 30) stadia." 
He spells the name slightly differently, as 'Ammaous. Whether the reading in this last 
cited passage be 60 or 30 stadia, Josephus could not mean the city of Emmaus "in the 
plain." It seems utterly inconceivable in the light of such usage why Luke should have 
spoken of Emmaus as he has done, if he meant the famous city. It has been said it 
might be but a village since its destruction by Varus. Possibly, but that would not 
affect the pre-eminence its history had given it, and which led Josephus, and doubtless 
every one else, still to speak of it simply as "Emmaus." If the Evangelist had meant 
that Emmaus, he would have made his intention clear by simply, as Josephus does, 
calling it by its familiar name. 

(5) The reading, 60 stadia, is supported not only by the weight of New Test. MS. 
authority, but by the MS. evidence for the same reading in Josephus (Bell. Jud. vii. 
6. 6). The consent of these independent witnesses to the placing of an Emmaus at that 
distance from Jerusalem will settle the point to most minds. It may be added that a 
distance of 160 stadia would be no localization at all, seeing that the direction from Jeru- 
salem is not given. Let any one plant a circle of 40 miles diameter on his map of the 
land and judge the value of such a description of the situation of a village! A site must 
be sought on the circle formed by a radius of 7 or 8 miles from Jerusalem. 

We left the ruins of Amwas at eight o'clock in the morning. We were mounted on 
good horses, and we took the most direct route over the mountains. After a hard ride 
we came to Abou Ghosh, the ancient Kirjath Jearim, at noon. 

Here we ate dinner and rested until 2.45 p. m. Then we mounted our horses, and 
rode to Jerusalem, arriving at five o'clock. This distance, and the difficulty of the 
road through the mountains are absolutely incompatible with the account of St. Luke. 

At Abou Ghosh we found the ruins of a small church up in a cultivated field, at some 
distance from the road. It is impossible to fix the period of the ruin. The most impor- 
tant monument at Abou Ghosh is an ancient basilica close to the modern village. The 
walls, columns and vault of this basilica are intact. It was originally decorated with 
mosaics, but only the faint traces of these appear. The architecture and the frescoes 
are Byzantine. Under the basilica is a beautiful vaulted crypt, and in it an unfailing 
spring of good water. The site has been purchased by France. Benedictine monks are 
restoring the ancient basilica in a most worthy manner. The general opinion assigns 
the church to the epoch of the Crusades, but the presence of the crypt and the spring of 
water remains unexplained. The distance of Abou Ghosh from Jerusalem agrees with 
the distance assigned by St. Luke, and I believe that it is the most probable site yet 
found of the Emmaus of the Gospel. 

In this opinion, the crypt might well be explained as the house of the disciple 
where Jesus lodged. Or it may have been built over the spring of which Jesus is supposed 
to have drunk. But positive arguments are wanting. We can never have certitude in 



The Fast of Ramadan 



289 



these questions. This incertitude touches not the substance of the life of the Redeemer, 
and with that we must be content. 

The good Benedictines at Abou Ghosh are very kind, courteous, and hospitable. 
When they have finished the restoration of the church, they will have one of the finest 
churches of the Orient. They are executing this restoration in a manner worthy of the 
ancient Christian monument. They contend not with anyone regarding the authen- 
ticity of their sanctuary. With good sense they show the monument, and leave the 
disputed question aside. 

As before stated, we reached Jerusalem at five o'clock in the evening, somewhat 
wearied but most satisfied with our journey. 

November nth. — Mass at 6.15 at St. Etienne. Weather clear and warm. Slightly 
indisposed. Passed the day in studying Arabic. 

November 12th. — Mass at 6. 1$ at St. Etienne. The Rt. Rev. Patriarch of Jeru- 
salem has ordered a prayer in all Masses for rain. A famine threatens the wretched 
land, if rain does not come. This morning the sky is slightly cloudy, but the sun is 
shining brightly, and the temperature is delightful. At midday it will be quite warm. 

Jerusalem is one of the highest points of the mountains of Judaea, about 2,500 feet 
above the sea level; consequently our climate is better than it is in the valleys. Down 
in the valley of the Jordan and all about the Dead Sea the heat now is unbearable. 
In the days when Palestine was a land flowing with milk and honey , conditions must have 
been different. Then there were forests in the land, and grass on the hillsides ; but now the 
trees are gone, and the hill-sides produce only thorns and thistles. If a young tree is 
found out on the common land, the Arab cuts it down, and' digs up its roots to sell 
them for fuel. The women go out on the hill-sides and cut djown the brushwood and 
carry it away on their heads. The men here work but little ; woman is the slave. She 
carries the water, carries the wood, and prepares the food, while the man sits and 
smokes. 

At 9.45 a. m. we had a fine shower for about twenty minutes, but the parched earth 
needs days of copious rain. At 10.45 the sun is again shining, and the clouds are dis- 
appearing. 

At noon another very heavy shower. The day is cool. The great Muslim fast of 
Ramadan has commenced. It will continue for a month. A cannon shot at two o'clock 
after midnight announces that the Mussulmans have still two hours in which to eat and 
drink. Another cannon shot at four o'clock in the morning announces that the day's 
fast begins. No food or drink is to be taken, until at sunset, now at five o'clock, an- 
other cannon shot announces that the fast is over for the day. Then may be seen the 
whole Muslim population of Jerusalem hastening to take food, which they eat immod- 
erately. 

The essential feature of the Muslim fast is that no food or drink is to be taken from 
sunrise to sunset. The public observance of this fast at Jerusalem is very strict. Dur- 
ing this month one sees no more the Arabs sitting by the side of the way, drinking coffee 
and smoking. 

The cannon shot is only employed in the larger cities. The general method of an- 
nouncing the fast is the voice of the Muezzin from the minaret. Simultaneously with 
the cannon shot in the larger cities the Muezzin stands in the minaret. 

Then sounds the call of the Muezzin from the height of the minaret, away into 
the silent moonlight; it is the " Shur" of Ramadan, the call after midnight, which gathers 
the true believers to prayer, and allows them to take their last meal, for as soon as a 



290 Church of the Holy Sepulchre 

white hair can be distinguished from the black, the commandment of the Lent must be 
observed. "Allah, hu akbar!" he recites from the minaret, and "la illah ilia allah," 
cries a second Muezzin; and then both: "wa Muhammad rasul Allah;" and the duet 
continues to admonish the Muslims with an admirable harmony of voice, sympathetic 
to those whom it concerns. 

There is no dispensation from Ramadan. The European explorers find great diffi- 
culty with their diggers during Ramadan, as the natives fail from sheer exhaustion, 
and cannot work the full da)'. Ramadan lasts thirty days. As the Muslim calendar 
is not revised, it may happen at any part of the year. 

The Muslim era began on July 16, 622, the date of the Hidjira, or flight of Muhammad 
from Mecca to Medina. They have twelve months, the first is 30 days, the second of 
29 days, and thus they alternate through the cycle. They intercalate days at irregular 
intervals. 

At 4.15 p. m. I went to the Church of the Holy Sepulchre and made the procession. 
The marble slabs of the floors are worn smooth by the kisses of Christians. The church 
was never beautiful. It is dark and damp. Its pictures are mere cartoons. Its walls 
are crumbling away. It is black with the smoke of centuries. It is hemmed in on all 
sides, except a small open space in front, by wretched buildings thrown together with- 
out any order; but it is the eternal memory of the Saviour that gives to it an honor 
that no other temple on earth enjoys. This honor is independent of the question of 
the authenticity of the site. It is certain that the events happened at Jerusalem, and 
though the exact site is, and must remain uncertain, this is the place where the church 
has authorized the pilgrims to venerate the great event of the Redemption. 

However, it must be acknowledged that the Franciscans have gone a little too far 
in their zeal for the sanctuaries of which they are the custodians. For example, they 
declare in their liturgy that "hie, here," the Lord appeared to his Blessed Mother; 
that "hie, here" he appeared to Mary Magdalene; that "hie, here" his body was anoint- 
ed. Now there is no record of the Lord's appearance to his Blessed Mother; it is piously 
believed. How absurd therefore to assign the very spot? Who can tell where Magda- 
lene stood when she had her vision ? The stone of anointing is absolutely unauthentic, 
and is not even ancient. It is most probable that the Lord was fastened to the cross 
after it was erected; and yet the good Franciscans assign a spot at some distance from 
the supposed place of erection of the cross; and declare that "hie, here" the Lord was 
nailed to the cross. The " hie " is always printed in large letters. An indiscreet zeal 
has placed it in the liturgy. 

The honor paid to the Holy Places is right and acceptable to God, since the worship 
centres in the everlasting truth Jesus Christ; but this adverb of place asserts a preroga- 
tive of the spot which is in most cases uncertain, and in some cases ridiculous. How 
many things might be changed in the Catholic Church, while admitting her infallibility 
and indefectibility ? She is a combination of divine and human elements; and every- 
where and throughout all the ages since the church began, the weakness and sinfulness 
of human nature have operated sad effects in the Church of Christ. 

But these regret-able features of the church do not diminish my devotion. I shall 
go to-morrow morning at an early hour to say Mass on Calvary. 

November 13th. — Mass on Calvary at 6.15. It has rained all night and is still 
raining. The cobble-stones of the narrow streets of Jerusalem are slippery with greasy 
mud. The stench is sickening. ' Muslim activity ceases on Sunday only when they are 
employed by Christians, as the Muslim day of rest is Friday. There were but few pre- 



Life at Jerusalem 



291 



sent in the Church of the Holy Sepulchre this morning. It is too early for the great 
pilgrimages. Arab men and boys who profess Christianity linger about the sacristy 
awaiting an opportunity to serve Mass. Their motive is to receive some money from the 
foreign priests who come there. Some of them are importunate in their demands for 
money. If one gives them what is customary, they will shamelessly demand more. 
It ought not to be allowed. 

The harsh strident voices of the men and boys chanting the Greek liturgy is a very 
disagreeable feature of the church. The main chapel of the Greeks is built up like a 
church within a church occupying the main body of the church. This destroys all the 
view of the interior of the church, and leaves only narrow dark passages on the outside 
of their chapel. 

With the rain the temperature has fallen. It is now about 50 degrees Fahrenheit. 

It has been a day of almost continuous heavy rain. The temperature at 9 o'clock 
is 44 degrees Fahrenheit. A rainv dav is most dismal in this strange land. 

November 14th. — Mass at St. Etienne at 6.15. It is a dull cloudy mo rning It 
rained much during the night, but at present it is not raining. The wind is in the north, 
and it looks threatening. The thermometer has fallen to 42 degrees Fahrenheit at 
six o'clock this morning. If one will sleep at night at Jerusalem, one must accustom 
himself to the barking of dogs, the ringing of bells, reports of cannon, and the shouting 
of the Arabs. The Franciscan parish church of San Salvatore has a great clock which 
strikes the hours and quarters every quarter of an hour. It can be distinctly heard in 
and about Jerusalem. 

It is well to retire early at Jerusalem, as it is quite impossible to sleep after four 
o'clock in the morning. 

A drizzling cold rain continued up to 10.30 a. m. Then the clouds rolled away, 
and at 1 1 o'clock a genial sunshine appeared. It is grateful to sit in its rays, as the day 
remains cool. I have just read a brochure by Rev. Urban Coppens, O. F. M., entitled 
"Le Palais de Caiphe et Le Xouveau Jardin Saint Pierre des Peres Assumptionists au 
Mont Sion." The reverend author inveighs with great sarcasm and bitterness against 
the aforesaid Fathers for the reason that they claim to have in their possession the house 
of Caiaphas. Father Coppens believes that the site of the house of Caiaphas is the schis- 
matic Armenian church near the Caenaculum. All depends on the testimonies of the early 
writers. From a perusal of the work of Father Coppens one is strengthened in the per- 
suasion that little is certain as Jerusalem. The terrible A"icissitudes through which 
the city passed in the Roman siege, and in the following centuries obliterated land- 
marks and memories. The testimonies of the old writers are vague and contradictory. 
The site of the Temple is fairly certain ; Mount Olivet is certain ; but men differ widely in 
regard to Mt. Zion. Hakeldama. Hinnom. etc. The same uncertainty hangs over the 
Holy Sepulchre, and Calvary. The other sanctuaries are creations of the imagination. 
The facts recorded and venerated are certain : but the exact place no man can assign. 

It is a clear cool night. 

November j^th. — -Mass at St. Etienne at six o'clock. The morning is cloudy and 
cool; temperature 40 Fahrenheit. Southward from St. Etienne on the left side of the 
road which passes from St. Etienne to the Gate of Damascus the Germans are building 
a fine stone church. They employ the soft very white lime-stone quarried at the base 
of the mountain over across the upper Eadron Vallev. This stone is easilv cut, and pre- 
sents a good appearance. 



292 



Church of the Holy Sepulchre 



This church will be dedicated to St. Paul. They have accepted the site of St- Etienne 
as the authentic place of St. Stephen's martyrdom; and as St. Paul stood by, and held 
the garments of those who stoned St. Stephen, they find it fitting to commemorate by 
this church the presence of Paul here. Who can tell in which direction Paul stood? 
Still it is perfectly proper to build this church, and dedicate it to the memory of the afore- 
said event in Paul's life, if they content themselves with the fact that somewhere near 
the walls of Jerusalem Paul stood, and consented to Stephen's death. The fact that 
the event happened just outside the walls of Jerusalem, justifies the building of this church 
to commemorate it. It may have been here ; it may have been a sabbath day's journey 
distant from this spot; but it certainly was at Jerusalem, outside the walls. However 
if these zealous Christians who are building this sanctuary place in their liturgy that 
Paul stood "hie, here" ; then the sanctuary becomes misleading and ridiculous. 

Many nations and many creeds are represented at Jerusalem. All are anxious to 
possess a sanctuary. All through the centuries there have existed bitter contentions 
and rivalries among them on account of the holy places. But now the strife has passed 
in among the religious communities of the Catholic Church; and in word and writing 
they bitterly contend regarding the location of the sanctuaries. Thus in the followers 
of Christ the spirit of peace and love is destroyed in zeal for the memories of the Prince 
of Peace. What the Holy Land needs is a Papal Commission of capable and just men 
to investigate all things here, and reform many things. 

At three o'clock p. m. we went out with Pere Vincent. We passed the afternoon in 
the Church of the Holy Sepulchre. We visited the Sepulchre, the cave where the cross 
is said to have been found, and Calvary. A large piece of the rock from the top of 
Calvary, where the cross is supposed to have stood was taken to Constantinople in the 
last century. 

Pere Vincent is a firm believer in the authenticity of the Holy Sepulchre. It is 
largely through his efforts that the theory of the second wall has been made known. 

It has a long history reaching back to the early years of the 4th Century. 
It was originally built, during the years A.D. 327-336, on a grand and extensive plan 
by the Emperor Constantine, with the assistance of Macarius the Bishop of Jerusalem 
at the time. Bishop Eusebius of Caesarea, who was present at its consecration gives a 
somewhat complete description of it, in his "Vita Constantini " lib.iii. 25-32. But as 
so many changes have been made in it since then, this description is not now very clear 
to us; but it shows plainly that the church consisted of two chief parts: the Anastasis, 
or the Round Church, with the Holy Sepulchre in its centre; and the Basilica, called the 
Martyrion, which was a large square building. These were connected with courts and 
porches. The whole extended from the present Christian Street in the west to the 
street Khan ez-Zeit on the east, a distance of about 500 feet; and from the road on the 
south to the Khankeh buildings on the north, about 200 feet, thus covering an area 
of more than 10,000 square yards. As the ground sloped towards the east it was levelled 
by cutting down the rock on the higher part, forming rock-scarps toward the west and 
north which may now be seen. 

To the east of this level ground , in what is now Russian property are found remains 
of old, walls and pillars once forming part of the Propylaeum of Constan tine's church. 
These and the scarps above named are the only remains of that church which can now 
be pointed out; for after it had stood 278 years it was destroyed by fire by the Persians 
A.D. 614; the roofs and interior decorations being of wood, making it very inflammable. 
After two years the Abbot Modestus, with help of the Christians in Syria and Egypt 



Church of the Holy Sepulchre 



293 



commenced rebuilding the church, on a reduced scale, though using as much as possible 
of the materials of the old church, and completed it in ten years A.D. 616- 626. 

In this restoration the connection between the different parts was not made; so 
that there were three separate buildings, viz: the Church of the Resurrection, or the 
Rotunda; the Church of the Cross, situated over the present Helena's Chapel, and the 
Church of Calvary, in the place it now occupies. Later on a fourth was added, the 
Church of the Virgin Mary, probably situated where the bell tower now stands. 

Eleven years later A.D. 637 the Muhammadans under Omar took possession of 
the city, but left the churches in possession of the Christians, establishing for themselves 
a place of worship on the site of the old Jewish temple. About the year A.D. 800 the 
emperor Charlemagne, in the neighborhood of the church, built a hospice, to which 
afterwards a church was added, on the very spot where now, after more than 1000 
years the German emperor has built a new evangelical church. 

In the year 830 the Christian patriarch Thomas made the necessary repairs to the 
building, and added a roof over the rotunda, much to the displeasure of the Muslims. 

About a hundred years later the interior of the church suffered much by fire, and 
again from the same cause in A.D. 969, but on each occasion it was soon restored. 

But in the year 10 10 the whole of the buildings were destroyed by order of the 
intolerant Khalif Hakem of Cairo, and so was given the first impulse to the Crusades. 
Meanwhile the Christians rebuilt the churches, or part of them, as well as they could 
under the circumstances. But after the Crusaders had taken the city in A.D. 1099, 
and had quiet possession of the land, they rebuilt or finished the church in such a manner 
that all the holy sites were brought under one roof, very much as we have it in its chief 
parts at the present day. 

In this church the Christian kings of Jerusalem, or of the new Christian empire, 
were crowned, and on their death were buried at the foot of Calvary, around the present 
stone of Unction. Here, too, many members of their families were interred. In 1224 
the Kharezmans, a wild Muhammadan tribe of Central Asia, invaded the land and took 
Jei-usalem itself. 

They destroyed the churches by fire and, in hope of finding treasures, they rifled 
the royal tombs and destroyed their monuments. 

Thus were the early churches destroyed, and in like manner during the last 700 
years the buildings have been again and again demolished, and again and again restored, 
to some extent, as well as the Christians were able to do the work, the last destruction 
being by fire in 1808. 

The last work that was done to the church was in 1868, when by agreement between 
Turkey, Russia and France, a new dome was erected over the rotunda, no longer of 
wood but of iron. Galleries run round the base of this dome, between the iron ribs 
and the outer covering, and the interior of the dome is decorated in a style which is 
neither Greek, nor Latin, nor Muslim. The names of the three architects are placed in 
a circle below the gallery on the western side. 

From whatever quarter of the city we may come we must make our way to the 
square, or court in front of the church, as the only entrance is situated here. But there 
are two ways of entrance to the square; the one from the east on level ground, which 
passes the sooks, or markets, and the so-called muristan, where the German Erloser 
Kirche (Church of the Saviour) has recently been built. The other from the west, or 
from the Christian street, with a fall of 8 meters, a rapid descent by steps in the lower 
parts. 



294 



Church of the Holy Sepulchre 



As we come to the level ground we see on the left a pillar attached to a building, 
and further on the basements of other pillars, the remains of a former arcade; to the 
right is the Greek convent of Gethsemane, and opposite, on the north side of the square, 
is the frontage or facade of the church. The court or square, averages 26 yards long 
by 18 yards wide, and is bounded on the east by the Greek Convent of Abraham, the 
Armenian Chapel of St. James, and the Coptic Chapel of the Archangel Michael; on the 




FACADE OF CHURCH OF HOLY SEPULCHRE 

west by the three Greek churches of Mar-Jacoob, of Mary, and of the Forty Martyrs. 
This last is the lower story of the bell tower close by the entrance to the church which 
was originally double but now has the eastern half walled up. The fine workmanship 
of the facade is worthy of careful examination, some of it being the remains of older 
work used again in rebuilding. 

The steps to the east lead up to the Latin Chapel of St. Mary's Agony, and were 
formerly an outer ascent to Calvary, which is now blocked up. Passing through the door 
(which is only open at certain hours) we have on our left hand the place where the 



The Stoxe of Cxctiox 



295 



Muhammadan doorkeepers constantly sit. These have the key of the church, and open 
and shut at certain fixed hours, though they are willing to open at other times when a 
fee is paid for the favor. - 

At the times when the door is open the entrance is free, though formerlv a payment 
had to be made. This office of door-keeper belongs to one Muhammadan family, and 
is hereditary". 




THE STOXE OF UNXTIOX 

Passing on from the door we come first to the Stone of Unction, which is 9 feet long 
by 4^ wide, and 1 foot high. 

At each end are large tripod candlesticks with immense candles. This stone, 
which was formerly more to the north, is supposed to mark the spot, or to be the stone 
on which the body of Jesus was laid for the anointing. John xix. 38-40. "And 
after this Joseph of Arimathaea, being a disciple of Jesus, but secretly for fear of the Jews, 
besought Pilate that he might take away the body of Jesus: and Pilate gave him leave. 
He came therefore and took the body of Jesus. 



290 



The Church of the Holy Sepulchre 



And there came also Nicodemus, who at the first came to Jesus by night, and 
brought a mixture of myrrh and aloes, about an hundred pound weight. 

Then took they the body of Jesus, and wound it in linen clothes with the spices, 
as the manner of the Jews is to bury." 

This stone is a modern invention. The present stone which appears was laid in 
1808. The tradition is that it covers the real stone beneath. In fact, there is under- 
neath a stone which in the fifteenth century belonged to the Copts. In the course 
of time it passed to the Georgians, and then to the Greeks. To-day the Latin Catholics, 
the Armenians, Greeks, and Copts have the right to burn lamps there. None of the 
older writers speak of it ; it is a middle age invention. 




CALVARY— GREEK ALTAR 

Outside the Schismatic Greek prior's room going eastward we come behind two pier 
shaped pillars into the Greek Chapel of Adam, in which is the Altar of Adam, and in the 
wall of the apse a recess, with a wire grating, through which we can see the rock of Cal- 
vary, and a crack in it which is said to have been made when Christ gave up His life. 
Matt, xxvii. 51: " And the earth did quake and the rocks were rent." 

Through this crack it is said the blood of Christ dropped down on the skull of Adam, 
which was buried in this small cave as shown in a picture hanging on the wall of this 
chapel. 

Having seen all this we go back into the large church, and proceed southwards 
along the wall to the stairs in the corner which lead up to the Calvary chapels. The 
first or southern altar belongs to the Roman Catholics. 



The Holy Sepulchre 



297 



Passing this we see to our right a window which was formerly a door when there 
was access to Calvary from the outside; through this we look into the former passage, 
now a neat chapel, that of Mary's Agony. Going on still further we come to the place 
where Christ was nailed to the cross, where the Latins have an altar. Going northward, 
passing the huge pier, we come to the place where the cross was reared upright and 
fastened in the ground. The hole is still shown under the altar which, with the entire 





ENTRANCE TO THE HOLY SEPULCHRE 

chapel, belongs to the Greeks. The hole is now lined with metal and we must stoop 
down in order to see it. The crosses of the thieves stood near, and the positions are 
marked with black stones in the floor; that to the north is said to be the place of the 
impenitent and that to the south of the penitent thief. Near the latter is a ledge, cover- 
ing an opening to the floor, which when pushed to one side reveals the rock underneath 
with the crack in it which we saw in the chapel underneath. 

If we examine the floor and the decorations of these two Golgotha chapels, we see 
the difference between the Greek, or Oriental, and the Latin, or Occidental taste. 



298 



The Holy Sepulchre 



We descend from Calvary and go northward to reach the wide Round Church of the 
Resurrection, with the Holy Sepulchre chapel in the centre. This Rotunda, or Round 
Church, has on the east side, two massive piers, supporting the so-called Royal Arch, 
and sixteen very strong square piers. 

These piers were formerly pillar-shaped but received their present form, when 
restored in 1810 after a great fire. 




ATRIUM OF HOLY SEPULCHRE 



These piers are united at the top by arches, and on them stands, with only one single 
window the New Tambour, built in A.D. 1868, and on which rests the large new dome, 
which has a large round opening at the top, by which the Rotunda is lighted. This 
opening is sheltered by a kind of glass umbrella. 

The entrance to the aforesaid tomb monument, which stands on a slightly elevated 
platform under the centre of the dome is on the east side, and there are two stone seats 
and some large candelabra. The front of the monument faces east, and is richly orna- 
mented. The door, which is so low as to require one to stoop on entering, has two nar- 



The Holy Sepulchre 



299 



row wings, which can be closed and locked, and when open lean against the wall. Behind 
these wings are narrow steps, built in the wall, leading up to the top of the monument 
Having entered we are now in the "Chapel of the Angel." so-called from the stone, 
used now as an altar, and believed to be a piece of the verv stone which the " Angel 
rolled back from the door." St. Matt, xxvii. 2. "The angel of the Lord descended from 
heaven, and came and rolled back the stone from the door, and sat upon it." 




THE HOLY SEPULCHRE 



The chapel, though not large, is square in shape, with high arches resting on fine 
pillars like narrow piers. 

With the exception of two round holes in the side walls, through which on the Greek 
Easter, the so-called Holy Fire ("Xoor" ) flashes out, this chapel has no windows but 
is lighted by the open door, and the manv burning lamps. 

Opposite the door on the west side is a narrow and very low opening, which is the 
entrance to the inner or tomb chamber, where the tomb itself, like a marble bench runs 
along the north side. 



300 Church of the Holy Sepulchre 

The chamber itself is so narrow, that only four or five persons at a time can kneel 
down before the tomb, but higher up it is wider, and pillars stand on the inner encase- 
ment forming a vault with an opening in the middle, for ventilation and the exit of the 
smoke and vapors of the forty-three lamps which are always burning. Of these lamps, 
thirteen belong to each of the three chief denominations, i.e., Greek, Latin, and Ar- 
menian, and four to the Copts. The monument was restored in 1810, and on the wall 
over the inner door, we read in Greek: — "Remember, Lord, Thy servant, the Imperial 
Kalfa (Headmaster at a building) Kamenos, from Mitylene. 1810." With solemn 
feelings the retreat is made stepping backwards, as all pilgrims do, avoiding the contact 
of the head with the hard stone. 

The best plan is now to go eastward, and under the Royal Arch into the Greek 
•church or their cathedral. This building is of moderate size, well lighted and covered 
with a lofty dome, the smaller of the two large ones. This church is handsomely orna- 
mented and has several high galleries with iron rails. Below these are the seats for the 
clergy — especially for the Patriarchs. On the north side is one for the Patriarch of 
Antioch, and on the south one for the Jerusalem Patriarch. 

In the middle of the floor stands a cup with a flat ball in it, said to indicate the 
centre of the earth. 

Behind the piers of the Rotunda were originally three galleries going round in three 
storys one above the other, divided, later on, into rooms belonging to the various denom- 
inations. 

On the West (in the middle) the Syrians have a chapel, which was formerly one 
of the three apses of the Anastasis, which was either preserved in the destruction of the 
church by the Caliph Hakem of Egypt A.D. 1010, or rebuilt afterwards in 1016. 

These apses were originally much higher, but in later times, when the galleries were 
made up into rooms, flat arches were built half the height, to make two storys — hence 
the striking lowness. 

On the south wall of the Syrian Chapel, just where the roundness is, begins a small 
door, leading to a little vaulted cave, where the Rock can be seen, and in it rock-cut 
tombs, fabled to be those of Nicodemus and Joseph of Arimathaea. As the Syrian 
Chapel is nearly always locked, one must go to the next one which belongs to the Copts 
and is always open. From here a door leads south to other rooms, and stairs lead up 
to rooms above. When at the top one- can go westwards till under the flooring of 
the eastern shops along Christian Street. 

Rings on the floor mark the spot where Jesus stood (North) and where Mary Mag- 
dalene stood (South). Opposite the Altar in a wooden gallery is an organ. All this 
belongs to the Latins. On the north a few steps lead us up to a door, of the Chapel 
of the Apparition, the Church of the Latin Convent, which is situated close by and over it. 
In this Chapel are two Altars, and south of them a wire-grated recess, in which is stand- 
ing a piece of a pillar shaft, to which according to tradition Jesus was bound when 
scourged. — John xix. 1. "Then Pilate therefore took Jesus and scourged Him." The 
pilgrims touch this pillar through the grating with a stick which they kiss. 

Having come out again to the steps, we go through a door close by into the Vestry. 
Here are kept in a drawer, the sword of Godfrey of Bouillon, and the spurs of Baldwin 
I., and are shown to visitors if desired. 

At the east side an open door leads to a long and broad flight of steps, twenty-nine 
in number, descending sixteen feet into the Chapel of St. Helena, which together with 
the adjoining rooms belongs to the Armenians. 



The Fast of Ramadan 



301 



Towards the east, the northern altar is dedicated to the penitent thief: the one in 
the middle to St. Helena; and on the south close to it is a window-shaped opening where 
the mother of the Emperor Constantine stood when the excavating and the finding of 
the cross took place. 

In the middle of this Chapel are four ancient pillars, bearing a Tambour with win- 
dows which light up the place — covered with a dome rising six metres, or about nine- 
teen feet above the flooring of the Abyssinian Convent-Court. 

The foot or basement of the south-western pillar is rock which is also seen in some 
places of the flooring, on which towards the south-east, thirteen steps lead ten feet 
deeper down into the Chapel of the Invention of the Cross, belonging to the Roman 
Catholics. 

As the walls and even parts of the roof are rock, and as there are openings at the 
top, it is thought that this Chapel was originally a cistern. As a Chapel it is very plain : 
the altar is noticeable only from the fact that it was presented by the Austrian Grand 
Duke Maximilian, the unhappy Emperor of Mexico. 

The Church of the Holy Sepulchre is not a large single church, but many churches, 
chapels, convents, working places, kitchens, etc. and all of various denominations. 

The Greeks possess the greatest proportion of the building, then the Roman Catho- 
lics, the Armenians, the Abyssinians, the Copts and last of all the Syrians, — the Protest- 
ants of course possess nothing. 

We have also learnt that there is only one entrance to all these buildings. When 
this our solitary entrance is closed and locked; no one can go out or in. So those who are 
inside when the door is locked are prisoners till it is unlocked. Hence it is necessary 
that each community have inside all the requirements of a household. The necessary 
things must be brought in whilst the door is open. 

Fortunately in one of the wings of the door is a hole, so that in cases of extreme 
necessity smaller things can be taken in or put out, but no more. For the hole is too 
small to admit the body of a man. 

Even the windows are iron grated so that egress and ingress are utterly impossible 
when the door is locked. 

November 16. — Mass at St. Etienne, at 6:15. Weather cool and cloudy. Ther- 
mometer ranging between 45 and 50 Fahrenheit. Morning devoted to class matter. 

At three o'clock made visit to the Holy Sepulchre and to Calvary. Then walked 
around the walls. The poverty of the land is dreadful. As we came near the eastern 
wall of the Temple, now the Mosque of Omar, the Mu' ezzin, or prayer-herald, mounted 
the minaret, and howled his call to prayer. It is a weird cry. Three times 
he chants. "Alla-hu akbar" 'Allah is great." Then twice he chants: "Aschhadu 
anna la ilaha ill-allah, anna Muhammedur rasulu allah." "I bear witness that there 
is no other God but Allah, and Muhammad is Allah's prophet." Then twice: "Hayya 
'alas — sala," "come to prayer." Five times in the day must the herald call the Mus- 
lims to prayer: First, at sunset; second, as soon as it is full night; third, at break of 
day; fourth, at midday; fifth, about the middle of the afternoon. The Muslim fast 
in the month of Ramadan begins at the third call, and ends at the first. 

As soon as the Mu'ezzin began his call to-day from the minaret, a cannon shot 
announced the end of the fast. Of course, the cannon is found only in the larger centres; 
in the village all depends on the Mu'ezzin. It produces a strange sensation to hear 
this wailing stentorian voice sounding forth from the minarets at night. 



302 



Life at Jerusalem 



As the voice of the Mu'ezzin must be heard by all, the minarets are built high, 
that nought may impede the sound waves. By use also the voice of the herald acquires 
great strength. Muhammad was the shrewdest of impostors: he devised a religion 
that appeals to the wild rude natures of the tribes of the East. 

November 17th. — Mass on Calvary at 5:45 a. m. Weather cloudy and cool, ther- 
mometer at 6:00 o'clock a. m., 45 Fahrenheit. Jerusalem seems stiller this morning 




MUEZZIN ANNOUNCING THE HOUR OF PRAYER 



than usual. A feeling of dead hopelessness seems to reign over its wretched population. 
Diseased eyes are very prevalent here. This is especially noticeable in the children. 
Its cause may well be traced to uncleanness. The bright smile and cheery salutation 
of happy people are not found here. On the contrary misery and hopelessness are 
depicted on all faces. There is no industry, no culture, no refinement. It is a relief 
to come out of the stifling, stinking atmosphere of the city, and breathe the fresh air 
outside the walls. 



Beth ax y 



303 



At three o'clock, p. m. we took a long walk out on the fine road which leads north 
from Jerusalem to Nabulus, the ancient Shechem. As we ascended the rocky hillside 
where the road makes the ascent by a zigzag route we saw a curious sight. A great 
flock of black goats came down the hillside, and a little farther on a young Arab sat by 
the roadside, and by him on a stone lay the unskinned carcass of a goat which he had 
just killed. He had cut the animal's head off, and the severed head lay by the carcass. 
His cloak and tunic were well sprinkled with the animal's blood, and the Arab seemed 
to relish this; for as he shouldered the carcass to cany it away, he pressed the bleeding 
neck close against. his clothing. He earned the body of the goat in the manner in which 
painters are wont to represent the sheep on the shoulders of the Good Shepherd. 

We continued northward for about half an hour, and came to the unimportant 
village of Scha'fat. which some believe to be the ancient Nobe. There are some small 
ruins here in a field across the road from Scha'fat, but nothing worthy of notice. 

Continuing northward for about twenty minutes, we came to Tell el-Ful, which is 
believed to be the Gibeah of Judges xix. 5. The hill lies back from the road about a 
hundred yards. On the top of the hill exist portions of a fortress, probably of the time 
of the Crusades. 

From the top of this hill a fine view is obtained of all the country lying northward 
from Jerusalem for several miles. It is quite hilly and in places rock}*, but yet much 
very fertile land lies on the hill-sides and in the valleys. And yet it is almost a desert. 
A few huts huddled together here and there are all that break the solitude of the vast 
stretch of deserted land. The Arabic population does not increase. The infant mortal- 
ity is very high, owing to ignorance, poverty and uncleanness. What other causes enter 
to prevent the growth of the population it is difficult to say ; but certain it is that there 
is no growth, no new villages, no new houses. There is growth at the north of Jerusa- 
lem, but it is totally a European population. 

November i8th. — Mass at six o'clock a. m. at St Etienne. Weather cool, tem- 
perature ranging from 45 to 47 Fahrenheit, sky slightly hazy. 

To-day has been devoted to class work. The sun is quite warm at midday, but 
there is a cool breeze blowing from the north. This makes the contrast between sun- 
shine and shade very marked. 

At 8:00 o'clock p. m., the temperature has fallen to 42 Fahrenheit. As there is 
no fire in St. Etienne except that of the kitchen, one may well infer that a cloak or 
■overcoat is a necessity. 

November 19th. — Mass at 6:00 clock a. m. at St. Etienne. Morning sunny and 
beautiful, temperature 42° Fahrenheit. The morning was devoted to class work. 

At 3 :oo o'clock we set out for Bethany. In going we followed the main road which 
leads down to Jericho. It is a broad and pleasant road running along the southern 
slope of the Mount of Olives. One may judge how traditions have run wild here from 
the fact that the tree from which Judas, hanged himself is pointed out by the side of 
this way, and also the barren fig tree which Jesus cursed. After about an hour's easy 
walk we came to Bethany. It is a miserable little village of about forty Muslim houses. 
There is not a Christian in the village. The Muslims call the village el-Azariye, from 
the memory of Lazarus. The "1" of the proper name has been elided after the "1" of 
the article. 

Near the principal Mosque of the village is the traditional grave of Lazarus, which 
is now in the possession of the Muslims. The tradition has not been constant which 
places the grave of Lazarus here. 



304 



Bethany 



We did not enter the cave to-day, as it was growing late; we shall visit the place 
again. 

A few paces southeast of the grave of Lazarus are the ruins of a fortress. The 
massive stones yet remaining in portions of the walls indicate that it is older than the 
Crusaders; perhaps it goes back to the fourth or fifth century. 

Of course, the tradition comes forward and shows one the house of Martha and 
Mary, and the house of Simon the Leper. It goes still farther. Out on the hill-side 
about seven minutes' walk from the grave of Lazarus is shown a stone on the hillside, 




BETHANY 



about three feet long. It is worn smooth by the kisses of the faithful. Here the tra- 
dition asserts that Jesus sat, as Martha met him. The Greeks have utilized this tradi- 
tion, in a very substantial manner. Not being able to secure the stone already men- 
tioned, they selected another close by, and founded there a large cloister. Of course 
the pilgrims of the Greek rite, who come to Jerusalem in large numbers, are too ignorant 
to judge of the unreasonableness of such a tradition; they come, and venerate the spot, 
and enrich the Greek monks by their offerings The common people of the schis- 
matic Greek rite are in great part devout ; but the Greek priests are faithless hypocrites. 
As their subjects are in great part ignorant, these priests play upon the credulity of 
their people. 



Beggars 



305 




FEEDING THE POOR AT ST. ETIENNE 



It is hard to fix one's mind on the tender memories of Jesus at Bethany. The site 
is authentic, but the face of nature is changed, and the dirty Muslim village is opposed 
to every thought of anything tender or beautiful. One of the interesting sights of the 
village is the bakery. It is a hole 
in a little hillock lined with small 
stones. By its side in the dirt sat 
an aged woman who certainly held 
a strong antipathy to all external 
uses of water. She had there a pile 
of bread newly baked. The loaves 
resemble large thick griddle-cakes. 
They were made of coarse flour, 
and not well baked. Exteriorly 
they were well sprinkled with ashes, 
and bore many indentations from 
the small stones whereon they were 
laid while being baked. By stoop- 
ing down, we were able to enter 
the oven. Its floor of earth was 
deeply covered by ashes. The oven proper was made of unburnt clay. To get a good 
idea of it, one needs only represent to himself a vessel made of clay resembling the 
large wooden bowls used in America to chop meat or vegetables in, or to make butter 
in. This is placed bottom upwards. In its bottom a round hole about six inches in 
diameter is left open in the making. To cover this hole an earthen cover with a vertical 
handle is fashioned. Over some pebbles strewn on the ground this clay bowl is placed ; 
a fire of dried dung, and dried stalks of grass and weeds is kindled round about it, and 
heaped up round the outer circumference ; and there on those pebbles, under this 
smouldering fire the bread is cooked. If well baked, it would be palatable; but the 

Arabs seem to relish it half baked. 

To establish a bakery all one 
needs is a sack of grain, two large 
stones and a chisel. With a chisel 
he adapts the two stones into a mill. 
From the clay of the land he makes 
the rude form for the oven, and in 
the desert field he gathers the fuel 
to bake the bread. The Franciscans 
have a steam mill in their convent 
with which they grind for all their 
convents, and also for the poor. 
They make excellent bread for them- 
selves and for the poor. The Dom- 
inicans buy their bread of a Greek 
baker; it is excellent. 
Yesterday as we came from dinner, we saw a line of thirtv-five Muslim beggars 
sitting on the earth by the wall of the lane which leads from the street to the Church. 
Old men, old women, and children were there. One expects to find misery and rags 
with beggary ; but the Muslim beggar surpasses all power of description in his dirt and rags. 




FEEDING THE POOR AT ST. ETIENNE 



306 



Bethphage 



Every one received a large piece of bread from the Dominican brother in charge. 
It was a moving spectacle to see these lean and haggard old women draw over their 
bronzed and wrinkled visages a portion of their dirty rags, and hold it with their teeth 
to veil their faces according to the Muslim law. 

As it is the month of Ramadan, the Muslim fast, they did not eat the bread, but 
bore it away with them, to eat at the going down of the sun, when the fast for the. day 
ceases. 

It is said that once St. Gregory the Great demanded of God in a vision why he 
permitted the monster Phocas to reign over the Roman empire. One might well ask 




BETHPHAGE 



to-day the same question regarding the Turkish government. Christianity could be 
spread among this people, were it not that the poor wretches fear death at the hands 
of the Muslims, if they go over to Christianity. Of course, the Turkish government 
would protect the murderers of a converted Muslim. The one word that one hears every- 
where and from all classes of folk here is Backshish, "a gift of money." 

November 20th, Sunday. — We arose at 5:00 a. m., and went out over the Mount 
of Olives to Bethphage. Here the Franciscans have purchased a fine piece of land, 
and they have a fine chapel there. The principal altar is built upon a great square 
hewn stone which bears frescos of the triumphal entry of Christ into Jerusalem. 



Bethphage 



307 



The disoverv of the present site of Bethphage is thus described by Capt. Guillemot: 

"On leaving the Convent of Carmelites on the Mount of Olives to go to Bethany, 
the path to the east follows the contour of the south side of the mountain. After a 
gentle descent of about five hundred metres it turns abruptly to the south, passing over 
a natural ridge, which unites the Mount of Olives with that of Bethany. 

"When you are arrived at the middle of the ridge, turn to the east, advance a few 
steps you are on the spot where the most ancient traditions place Bethphage. 

"Some time in the spring of the year 1877 a fellah of Jebel Tur, digging on this 
spot in the hope of finding building stones, struck upon a polished block, upon which, 
on clearing away the earth, he found paintings and characters. In the hope of back- 
shish he ran to his neighbors the Russians; these, however, preoccupied with the com- 
ing war, told him to cover all up and leave it for the present. 

"For centuries past the Franciscans have been accustomed to celebrate every year 
the Feast of Saint Magdalene at Bethany; on their return they halt at Bethphage in order 
to recite the Gospel of Palm Sunday. During the ceremony of this year (July 23, 1877) 
an assistant perceived certain letters on the stele, which had been imperfectly covered 
over, and clearing away a portion or it, found a Latin inscription in Roman characters. 
The father in charge of the sacred places, recognizing at once the importance of this dis- 
covery, instructed Frere Lievin to commence excavations as soon as possible; to take 
notes of, and to copy accurately everything that should be found. 

"Shortly after, Frere Lievin, having with him a small band of workmen armed 
with pickaxe and spade, brought me to the Mount of Olives and asked for my assistance. 
The moment our work was commenced the cupidity of the fellahin began to raise diffi- 
culties. Every resident of Jebel Tur pretended immediately to be the sole proprietor 
of this spot, hitherto neglected; and, to crown all, the villagers of Bethany declared 
that the place belonged to their territory. I had, however, time to make notes of two 
fragments of inscription and a sketch of the north side of the fresco, representing the 
master of the castle giving to the two disciples permission to carry away the ass and 
the foal. 

"Next day, when I came back to compare my finished drawing with the original 
and to study the details, the excavations had been completely filled up and again partly 
cleared out. Happily, the part which I then wanted was not hidden. 

"Next day, the same trouble; there was only the western face which remained 
partly uncovered. It was possible, however, to draw the figures bearing palms and 
hardly visible which stand on the right and left of the niche. Two days afterwards 
the whole was completely covered over; not even the top of the stone was visible. 

"These proceedings resulted from disputes between the fellahin, some of them 
wanting the excavations to proceed in the hope of getting backshish, and the others 
filling them up, as fast as made, out of jealousy. 

"Things being in this position, Frere Lievin had recourse to the Pasha, who im- 
mediately accorded us his protection. Orders were given by his excellency to the 
chiefs of the villages of Bethany and Jebel Tur ; a soldier was placed on guard over the 
excavations, and we were enabled to continue our labors in peace. 

"The fresco which I had, happily, copied carefully had been seriously damaged 
by the pickaxes and by the continual friction with stones and earth ; several letters of 
the inscription had disappeared. I made haste to note all that remained; it was for- 
tunate that I did so, because shortly afterwards an unknown hand destroyed in our 
absence the greater part of the rest. 



308 



Bethphage 



"The stele measures 1.30 metres (4 feet 3.18 inch.) in its greatest length ; in breadth 
it is 1. 13 metres (3 feet 8.49 inch.) at the northern end, and 1.06 metres (or 3 feet 5.63 
inch.) at the southern end. The height at the northern end is irregular, and averages 
one metre (3 feet 3.37 inch.). At the southern end it is 0.90 metres (2 feet 11. 4 inch.). 
It is constructed of the rock on which it stands, a porous limestone, lying in irregular 
strata, with alternate soft and hard beds. 

"The monolith has not been separated from the rock of which it forms part, ex- 
cept on the four faces. 

"At first sight the monument would be taken for an altar, or even for a tomb. 
But there exist no traces of the steps and other accessories to an altar. As regards the 
second, there is no sign of any opening. The white stucco which covers it is still solid 
in certain places. The paintings are finely executed and of a striking character. Never- 
theless, the inscriptions leave no doubt as to the origin of this decoration. 

"But is it only a restoration? At what period was the stone cut? That is a ques- 
tion impossible to answer. Those who thus ornamented it must have had no doubt 
that formerly the rock stood out above the level of the soil, presenting a sort of rustic 
seat, and that our Lord may have sat upon it on a certain memorable day. 

"The Resurrection of Lazarus. — The choice of the south side for this painting, which 
faces Bethany, and the subject, that of the permission to take the ass and the foal, 
makes me think that the west part, facing Jerusalem, must have represented the tri- 
umphant entry of our Lord into the Holy City. The figures which can still be seen 
bearing palms, on the two sides of the niche, are in favor of this hypothesis. - 

"This painting is much superior to the others. I believe, however, that it is by 
the same hand. 

"On the facade of the Church of the Holy Sepulchre there is a Resurrection of 
Lazarus carved in the prolongation of the lintel. It is in great measure identical with 
that of Bethphage. Did the painter copy the sculptor? Perhaps while studying the 
vigorous bas-relief he may have acquired a more perfect understanding of the line and 
of light and shade. I am happy in having been able to copy this composition in time. 
At present it is greatly damaged; wet fingers have been passed over the figures, and have 
effaced them ; many of them have quite disappeared. 

"On clearing away the earth from our excavations we came upon a circular con- 
struction of a much more ancient appearance than the decoration of the stele. The 
disposition and arrangement of the materials have nothing in common with Crusaders' 
work. Besides, at two metres from the circumference we found the fragment of a 
column standing still upright upon its base. Is this the first and most ancient sanctuary, 
which those who restored the monument were unable to repair in its original grandeur ? 
More complete examination of the place is required to prove the point. 

"In any case, we ascertained that the stele itself was in the centre of the circular 
space. 

"Near the monument lie a number of cisterns, some in ruins, some covered over and 
still in use. Their depth and size, and the fact that they are gathered together 
over a narrow space, their acknowledged antiquity, all go to prove that there once ex- 
isted an important village in this place. Two of the reservoirs are in ruins; two others 
serve as watering-places for cattle. A small rocky ravine which used to feed these 
cisterns separates them towards the west from a mamelon which may very well be the 
site of Bethphage. I have seen on the ground broken pillars, fragments of marble 



Bethphage 



309 



pavement, an enormous quantity of broken Jewish pottery, and mosaic cubes of all 
colors, all of which have been brought to light by the cultivation of the soil. 

"I one day met the proprietor on the spot at the moment when he was taking out 
of the ground a stone evidently once part of an aqueduct, and evidently of great age. 
I asked him if he found many things like it. He replied, 'You see all this place ; I cannot 
dig anywhere without finding walls." Then he added, 'There was formerly a city on 
this spot.' That, indeed, is the opinion of the whole country. 

"It does not seem to me possible that Bethphage could have been placed on the 
side of a road which, shut in to right and left by two hills, is a mere gulf for the west 
wind, so terrible in this country. The old cities in the vicinity are all built on slopes 
which incline to the southeast. Now this mamelon near the cisterns has a similar in- 
clination. 

"Again let us turn to the sacred narrative. The Saviour came from Jericho 
towards Jerusalem ; He had passed Bethany, and passed over the ground broken by the 
hills which separate the valleys of Bethany and Bethphage. 'Go,' He said to His dis- 
ciples, 'to the village over against you' (Matt. xxi. 2). Now the road has not been 
changed, since it could have passed no other way than over the narrow ridge to join 
the Mount of Olives. If, then, the village was on the road, why send the disciples, 
since the Lord would pass it Himself' And if we look at the plan, we may be sure that 
the disciples, to make a short cut, descended the valley to climb the mamelon of Beth- 
phage, while our Lord, with the rest of His disciples, continued to follow the road in the 
direction of the Mount of Olives, and there waited the return of the disciples. 

"And to the faithful this stone would be that on which Jesus rested by the wayside 
and when He mounted the ass." 

M. Ganneau comments on this site as follows: — "We know, therefore, beyond any 
doubt, the point where the Crusaders localised the episode to which the name of Beth- 
phage is attached. The ruins noticed by M. Guillemot not far from the painted stone 
belong to the Bethphage so called by the Crusaders. Is this mediaeval Bethphage 
identical with that of the Gospel? This is a question quite distinct from the first. We 
know how different are opinions on the site of Bethphage. According to some who 
rely on the Greek text of Luke xix. 29, it is placed to the east or the south-east of Beth- 
any; others consider it as identical with the modern village of Silwan; others, again, 
relying on the authority of the Talmud, make Bethphage a suburb of Jerusalem. For 
my own part, I confess that I ask myself whether Bethphage is not simply the village of 
the Mount of Olives called Kefr et-Tur. I believe this village ancient on account of its 
name Kefr, on account of its situation, and on account of the ancient remains that one 
sees there. Kefr et-Tur means the Village of the Mount of Olives; it may formerly have 
had a designation more personal, which is lost. Now the Gospel tells us of an ancient 
locality whose name has disappeared; it is Bethphage, the Village of the Mount of 
Olives." 

The Franciscans have now purchased all this land, and have there a fine sanctuary; 
but few pilgrims go there. 

The Arab from whom the Franciscans purchased the land acts as guardian of the 
place. He is a Muslim, but of honest character ; and he would embrace Christianity were 
it not for fear of his coreligionists. 

The spot is beautiful. The dwelling of the aforesaid Arab, which stands up on a 
hill several yards distant, is the only dwelling in the place. 



310 



Life at Jerusalem 



As we came back over the Mount of Olives the view of Jerusalem revealed itself 
strikingly clear in the morning light. Every part of the city within the walls, and the 
entire European part to the north outside the walls were clearly visible. The city is 
far more beautiful seen from this elevated viewpoint, than when seen in its dirty nar- 
row streets. 

From this point one also readily realizes the impossibility of believing that in the 
time of our Lord the northern wall ran from the northern limits of the temple across 
south of the place of the Church of Holy Sepulchre, up to the so called tower of David. 
Such narrow limits are incompatible with the city of Solomon ; and it is certain that 
Nehemiah repaired the old walls. My firm belief is that the present northern and north- 
western wall is identical with the northern wall of the time of Christ. The site of 
Agrippa's wall must be sought farther north. I feel sure that if a deep trench were 
dug from the Bab el-Ahmud directly north it would eventually cross and lay bare the 
foundations of Agrippa's wall. 

The weather remains cool. At midday to-day it was only 47 Fahrenheit. 

November 21st. — Mass at 6:00 o'clock a. m. at St. Etienne. Weather cool, but 
fine. Shall devote the morning to study of Syriac. 

Towards noon I mounted the high wall which surrounds the garden of St. Etienne. 
From such a height I obtained a fine view of the northwestern slope of Gordon's Calvary. 
Topographically considered, the slope accords with the Gospel description of Calvary. 
The present garden of St. Etienne may have been a part of the Garden of Joseph of Ari- 
mathaea, and St. Stephen's Church may be close to the place where the body of Jesus 
was laid. Pere Matthieu was certainly inspired of God to buy the site of St. Stephen's 
Church. 

November 2 2d. — Mass at 6:00 o'clock at St. Etienne. I feel now an ever increas- 
ing reverence for St. Etienne. The conviction grows with every reflection that it is the 
greatest sanctuary of the world. 

Last night was cold and windy, a dismal night. At 7:00 o'clock the thermometer 
registered only 33 Fahrenheit. As the sun is now shining, the temperature will rapidly 
rise, and at midday it will be pleasant, if it does not rain. 

It has been a cold dull windy day. At a little before five p. m. the rain began to 
fall, and a cold dark rainy night settled down upon Jerusalem, temperature 42 Fahren- 
heit at six p. m. 

November 23d. — Mass at St. Etienne at 6:00 a. rh. Considerable rain fell during 
the night. The morning is dark and cloudy, temperature at 7:30 a. m., 42 Fahrenheit. 

The clouds broke away about 10:00 a. m., and at noon it was quite pleasant, but 
at half past three the rain set in again, and it was impossible to go out. To-day we had 
a conference from M. Sejourne. He treated of the account of a pilgrim's journey made 
in the sixteenth century. 

November 24th. — Arose at 5:00 a. m. Mass at St. Etienne at 5:20 a. m. Breakfast 
at 6:30 a. m. At 7 :oo a. m. we mounted our horses and started for the famous monastery 
of St. Saba, or as it is called in the language of the country, Mar Saba. The Monastery 
of Mar Saba lies in the desert to the southeast three hours' ride from Jerusalem. We 
did not take the direct road for Mar Saba, but set off almost directly southward to see 
the desert. We passed at some distance to the west the unimportant village of Sur 
Bahir, and after about an hour's ride, we came in full view of Bethlehem situated on a 
hill over to the westward. Soon we entered the mountains of the desert, and stopped 
on the summit of one of the mountains to view the land. The view is picturesque, but 



In the Desert 



311 



wild and desolate. To the eastward in a very deep valley lies the blue surface of 
the Dead Sea. It is a dead sea, lying in the midst of death. The reflection of its calm 
surface cast a blue light over upon the long range of the Mountains of Moab which 
form a great high irregular wall along the eastern border of the valley of the Jordan. 

In all directions the view stretches out over mountains, and voiceless solitude. 
The mountains are not in chains, but rise in wild and irregular confusion, and the nar- 
row valleys wind about and cross each other in every direction. A few wandering tribes 
of Bedawin pasture their goats on the hills, and raise a little grain in the valleys, and 
on the gentler slopes. They pitch their tents in the valleys in the winter, and seek the 




THE DESERT OF JUDAEA 

higher altitudes in the hot season. All the Bedawin are ruled by chiefs, called Sheikhs. 
These Sheikhs divide the land among the members of the tribe, and rule over them. 

By far the greater part of the desert is bare sand and rock. In this southern desert 
the rocks are not a prominent feature. Many of the mountains are of sand and soft 
crumbled chalky stone. They resemble gigantic heaps of sifted ashes. One can 
form a good idea of the land by imagining that a mighty primeval wind had blown sand 
and soft rocks into gigantic drifts. 

At the border of the desert we came to the tomb of a Muslim Faquir. The 
term Faquir _,M signifies "poor", and is applied to these Muslim monks who profess renun- 
ciation of all earthly things. 



312 



Mar Saba 



: The' tradition says that this wanderer came up out of Egypt to this spot, and here 
died. They buried him here in the desert, and erected a tomb over him, under a small 
dome of stone. There is a watchman always at the grave, and every year Muslims 
come here and perform acts of their wild religious cult in his honor. 

Round about and over the tomb were hung dirty bits of cloth, which had been 
offered to the Faquir as votive offerings. 

Out here in the desert we found a few ruins of an old Christian monastery, but its 
history no man knows. 

Our way was a mountain path winding over mountains, along the side of precipices, 




MAR SABA 

and through deep valleys. At intervals we asked the way of the goatherds on the 
mountains. At times a jackal would dart across the mountain, and a few ravens wheeled 
about in the air ; but nought else relieved the dead stillness. 

After a hard ride over paths where a misstep of our horses would mean destruction, 
we arrived at 12:30 p. m. at Mar Saba. 

Nearly the whole community of the Dominicans of St. Etienne were before us at the 
monastery of Mar Saba. They had come out from Jerusalem by a more direct route. 
Many came on foot; others rode on asses. They had brought food for a fine dinner 
from Jerusalem; and while they carved the mutton and chickens, and prepared dinner, 
we visited the monastery, under the guidance of a Greek priest of the place. Mar Saba 



Mar Saba 



313 



is one of the things which can not be adequately described. The highest power of 
description would fall below the reality. 

In the fifth century Euthemius founded here a monastery. His disciple St. 
Sabas settled here, and many monks associated themselves with St. Sabas. The}" lived 
according to a rule received from St. Basil. In 484 A.D.. St. Sabas was ordained 
priest by Salustius, Bishop of Jerusalem: and he was made Abbot of the order of Monks 
called after him Sabaites. 

St. Sabas played an important role in opposing the monophysite heresy. He died 
i" 1 53 1 - 




TOMB OF ST. SABAS 



The Sabaites increased rapidly in numbers until the year 641, when Chosroes or 
Chosru the Persian came and slew the monks, and plundered the monastery. 

Within one of the caves are two heaps of skulls placed in regular tiers. The tradi- 
tion is that these are the skulls of those slain by Chosroes. This of course is not certain. 
The skulls present a ghastly sight. 

Mar Saba arose from Chosroes' devastation, and within a century had become 
rich in treasures. It was plundered in 796, and again in 842. Even as late as the last 
century 1832. and again in 1834. it was plundered. The monaster}* is now in possession 
of the Russians, who have restored and enlarged it. 



314 



Mar Saba 



The Greek church built here is of no importance. In the court before the 
church in a little dome-shaped chapel, is the tomb of St. Sabas. The body has been 
removed, and the Venetians claim to possess it, which is not improbable. In another 
portion of the monastery is the tomb of St. John Damascene one of the most renowned 
monks of Mar Saba. The burial place of the monks is in the court in front of the Basilica 
under the flag stones of the pavement. 

There are at present here, seven priests of the Greek rite, and sixty monks. Many 
of these Monks have been sent here for punishment, having been judged guilty of crimes 
by the Greek patriarch. 




MAR SABA 

The narrow hole in the rock is shown which served as St. Sabas' bed; it is merelv a 
hole in the rock at one side of the cave, where he lived in prayer and contemplation. 

Many legends cling round Mar Saba. One legend is that a lion lived here in the 
cave with him, and served him. They also have there a date palm which they say 
was planted by St. Sabas A.D., 490. It is fabled to bear stoneless fruit. 

A little farther down the side of the mountain we entered a cave in which water 
trickled forth from seams in the rock. The tradition is that this water came forth 
from the rock at St. Sabas' prayer, when he thirsted. It never fails, and is quite abund- 
ant. It is cool, but brackish, being largely charged with mineral substances. 

To form some idea of Mar Saba, let one imagine himself in a deep defile between 
two steep walls of soft brown rock. The eastern wall is the site of the Monastery of 



A ix Karim 



315 



Mar Saba. The whole side of the mountain is full of caves, and here the monks 
fixed their abodes like the nests of eagles in the rocks. One series of caves rose above 
the other to the height of between five and six hundred feet from the bed of the defile 
below. These caves are now built round about by strong walls, arranged like stone 
terraces, one above the other. 

The cells of the monks are holes in the rocks, enclosed behind grates of iron. They 
arise at one o'clock after midnight, and chant prayers together. They repose some 
time during the day. They eat food but once a day, except on Saturday and Sunday, 
when they eat twice. They never taste flesh. Their bread is the worst I have ever 
seen. It is black, hard, and very heavy. They are employed at no manual labor. The 
order of their life is prayer and contemplation. In the awful solitude they make friends 
of the birds of the air; the thrushes come and eat bread out of their hands. Women 
are never allowed in the Monastery. Nearby is built a tower for their lodgment. 

During the summer the heat at Mar Saba is intense. The rays of the sun strike on 
the rocks of the opposite mountain side, and are reflected back upon the monastery 
with great intensity. From Mar Saba one can form an idea of the rigorous asceticism 
of the anchorites of Egypt, and of all the early monks.. 

We left Mar Saba at 3:00 p. m., and came out over the mountains to Deir Dhost. 
Here tradition locates the cave of Theodosius" the friend of St. Sabas. There is a large 
grotto here belonging to the Greek monks. They showed us what they said was the 
tomb of Theodosius, and of the mother of St. Sabas. There are here also the ruins of a 
grand basilica which must have been built in the early ages of Christianity. The Greek 
monks here are very courteous; they gave us refreshment. Leaving here we descended 
into the great valley of the Kidron, and returned at 7:30 p. m., to St. Etienne. 

These journeys demand a strong constitution, utter disregard of comfort, and in- 
difference to fatigue. 

The day continued fair and warm throughout. 

November 25th. — Mass at St. Etienne at 6:00 o'clock a. m. Inasmuch as I am 
persuaded that no church at Jerusalem is nearer the true site of the Resurrection than 
the Basilika of St. Etienne, I have chosen the altar of St. Mary Magdalene in the Basilika 
for my Masses, and I am content. It is regrettable that over the altar the figure of 
Mary Magdalene is represented in such a manner that assures one that they have con- 
founded Mary Magdalene, the virgin friend of Christ, with the woman of sin mentioned 
by St. Luke. The weather is fine, temperature at noon 48 Fahrenheit. 

I ascertained to-day that the Arabs employed in building the new St. Paul's Church, 
of which I have spoken, are paid as follows: The stonecutters and masons receive a 
sum equivalent to about seventy-five cents of our money per day. The ordinarv work- 
men receive from thirty-five to forty cents per day, and the boys receive between ten 
and twelve cents. I was surprised at the largeness of the pay received. They begin 
work very early in the morning, and work more hours than our American workmen. 

This evening the temperature at 7:00 p. m. is 44° Fahrenheit. 

November 26th. — Mass at St. Etienne at 6:00 a. m. Morning clear and sunny, 
temperature 46° Fahrenheit. 

At 3:00 p. m., we set out for Ain Karim. The village lies west by a little south- 
west of Jerusalem , distant about five English miles. A very fine carriage road leads 
out to it, following somewhat of a circuitous route to avoid the mountains. A shorter 
path leads directly across the mountains. 



316 



Ain Karim 



At the distance of about a mile from Jerusalem, the view from this road is beautiful. 
After one surmounts the highest point of the route, the village of Ain Karim comes into 
clear view lying more than a mile distant, situated on the lower slopes of the mountains 
which here converge into a valley. It is one of the most beautiful villages of all Pales- 
tine. Its population is estimated to be 2,500; but there are only 350 Roman Catholics. 
These Roman Catholics here and elsewhere are principally made up of those who as 
orphan children were reared in the Roman Catholic orphan asylums. 

The law of the land and the Muslim fanaticism prevent the conversion of adults. 




AIN KARIM 



" These Arab Catholics are of weak character, and need constant help and attention. 
They are avaricious, and often dishonest. They often engage in the manufacture and 
sale of objects of devotion, and it would be the exception to find one who would scruple 
to take many times the worth of an article as its price. 

We reached Ain Karim at 5:00 p. m., and found in the Franciscan guest-house an 
Irish Franciscan brother. Brother Alfred Burke. He gave us the most warm-hearted 
hospitality, and also gave us much valuable information. He is a man of refinement, 
sound judgment, true piety, and human sympathy. 

We rested and conversed with him for a time, and then went to our rooms. At 
half past seven p. m. we ate supper, and soon after retired. The Franciscan guest-house 
at Ain Karim is furnished with all needful conveniences, and is very clean. 

November 27th. — We arose at 5:00 a. m., and at 5:45 began our Masses in the chapel 
where tradition places the birth of St. John. This tradition has no real foundation. 



Ain Karim 



317 



Like many other traditions of the East it is not the result of any critical study of testi- 
monies. Men found a place which the imagination presented as a fitting place for the 
event, and there a sanctuary was founded. The piety of the pilgrims questioned nothing 
in former times ; and thus sanctuaries which are the creation of imagination have grown 
famous. But what shall be said of all the devotion that is exhibited in these places? Is 
it an illusion and profitless? By no means. The events commemorated happened; 
they happened in this land. The true sites of most of them are lost, and will remain lost. 
But the history of the events is infallibly handed down from generation to generation; 
and the honor exhibited is directed to God and his saints in these places which a simple 
faith accepted before criticism entered to disturb men's faith. 

I most firmly believe that the church of the Holy Sepulchre is not built on the real 
site of Calvary and the tomb of Christ. But yet if a man, wishing to honor Christ by 
venerating the place of his death, comes to Jerusalem, and not being able to find the 
true Calvary, venerates the traditional Calvary, his act is as good before God, as though 
he stood on the very clod of earth wet with the blood of the crucified Lord. 

This does not prevent a man from seeking to establish as far as possible the true 
sites in the Holy Land; and when they are found he ought to offer there his veneration. 
For example, I am persuaded that the Basilika of St. Etienne has the strongest claim of 
any church in Jerusalem to be nearest the site of the Resurrection. Therefore I am 
content to exhibit there my devotion to the Resurrection of Christ. But the real Cal- 
vary I cannot find. Therefore, I shall go often to say Mass on the traditional Calvary, 
as I am debarred from the more probable site. 

The Franciscans have two churches at Ain Karim. One is built over the traditional 
site of the birth of St. John; the other is built on the traditional spot where the Mother 
of God saluted St. Elizabeth, and where she uttered the sublime canticle of the Mag- 
nificat. 

This morning we said Mass in the chapel of St. John Baptist's birth. The church 
consists of three small naves. The chapel of St. John is the prolongation of the apse of 
the left nave as one faces the altar. The chapel is a natural cave in the rock, oblong in 
form. Its greatest width is about fourteen feet, and its axis a little more. The sides 
are covered with marble slabs, but the vault is bare, showing the natural rock. The 
altar is a marble table, entirely open underneath. There underneath printed on a raised 
circle of marble are the words "Hie Precursor Domini natus est." "Here the Herald 
of the Lord was born." 

The cave is below the level of the pavement of the present church ; and one descends 
into it by eight broad marble steps. But in the ancient church, the cave was on a level 
with the pavement. Portions of the mosaics of the pavement of the ancient church 
have been found. The most important is in Greek which must be translated: "Hail 
Martyrs of God!" We are in the dark as to what martyrs are meant. The mosaic is 
one of the finest found in Syria, and may go back to the fifth or sixth century. Perhaps 
the origin of the church is due to the burial here of some martyrs to us unknown. 

The ancient writers are silent concerning this sanctuary. Theodosius about 530 
A. D., speaks of a sanctuary five miles from Jerusalem; but he does not tell us in what 
direction. The monk Epiphanius tells us that it is six miles west of Jerusalem, and 
called Cosmedin, which might be a corruption of Ain Karim. 

After the twelfth century the site of the visitation becomes fixed at Ain Karim. 

Reland the pioneer of Palestine geography put forth the opinion that the city of 
Judah mentioned by Luke was Juttah, a village a few hours south of Hebron. Robin- 



318 



Ain Karim 



son adopted this view. It weakens one's regard for the opinions of these men to find 
them adopting such a frivolous view. St. Luke declares that Mary went into a city of 
Judah, meaning a city in the hill country belonging to the tribe of Judah. How absurd 
to change this clear text into "the city Juttah." 

There is near to the present village 'Ain Karim a church and convent, dating back 
before Crusading times, and about ten minutes' distance on the hillside beyond the ravine 
and its copious spring is a remarkable ruin, bearing the name Mar Zacharias, the country 
house of Zachary, as tradition tells us, where Mary saluted Elizabeth, and where the 
latter hid herself with her son from the soldiers of Herod when they were sent to kill the 
children. 

About half an hour west of 'Ain Karim, on the southern side of the large valley 
Surar, opposite the village Sataf , is a cave in a rocky cliff, partly artificial, and below it 
a little spring called Habis. In the Name Lists it is explained Habs, "prison," 
or (and this is better) "religious endowment" (i. e., cell). Tradition makes it to be the 
place where John was living, meditating, and preaching in the desert. Above the cliff 
are the ruins of some buildings and of a little church. This indicates that the tra- 
dition is an old one. But people rightly ask, How can this be the wilderness in which 
St. John preached and baptised, as the site is no wilderness, but a very green and well- 
cultivated place ? 

This tradition is absolutely absurd though defended by the pious simple-minded 
Conrad Schick. The place contradicts all that is said of St. John in the desert in the 
Bible. How could we imagine the great hermit of the desert living in one of the most 
fertile fields of Judaea within a half hour's walk of his father's house, if we accept the 
tradition of Ain Karim? It is well to remark that even the Franciscans are not enthusi- 
astic over the cave of St. John. 

Ain Karim is a possible site of the Visitation, but not proven. 

One finds here again an evidence of that same tendency to locate every sacred 
event in a cave. It is true that in all epochs of history caves have been used in Pales- 
tine as human dwellings; still I think it quite unlikely that St. Elizabeth gave birth to 
John the Baptist in a cave. 

At 7:30 a. m., we went out with Brother Alfred to visit other objects of interest. 
Ain Karim consists of various sections. The church of St. John is at the eastern bound- 
ary of the Muslim village proper, which is noisy, dirty and of narrow streets, as are all 
Muslim villages. 

Over across the road on the slope of another mountain is a section quite distinct 
from the Muslim section. There is situated the Church of the Visitation. The great 
part of this section is inhabited by a society of Russian women, many of them are widows 
of priests of the Greek rite. They live in separate houses, but have devotions together 
in their church, and live a sort of community-life. Their community resembles in 
many things the Beguinages of Belgium. 

We visited the Church of the Visitation. Here in a portion of the crypt of the 
ancient Church is the traditional site of the Blessed Virgin's visit to Elizabeth. By 
the side of the altar is a well of clear spring water, which the pilgrims drink out of de- 
votion. The well is quite deep, and is covered by marble slabs. The water is drawn 
up by a rope and bucket. The present church is above this ancient crypt, but Mass is also 
said on the altar of the crypt. 

Above near the present church exist the ruins of the ancient church. It goes back be- 
fore the time of the crusaders. The ruined apse gives evidence that it was a grand church. 



The Second Wall of Jerusalem 



319 



Over on another eminence standing apart from the two sections of the town already 
mentioned is the large and beautiful convent of the nuns of Mt. Sion. This grand institu- 
tion was founded by Ratisbonne, the converted Jew. He is buried in the convent 
garden. We visited his simple grave, and pondered long over his holy life. 

We next visited 'Ain el-Habs, the traditional site of St. John's dwelling in the 
desert. It is distant in a westerly direction, an hour's walk over a mountain path from 
Am Karim. It is simply a cave in the side of the steep side of the mountain. A small 
spring of good water flows from the rock. The scenery is very picturesque. The 
cave has been made into a chapel, but to say Mass here one must bring vestments, etc., 
from Ain Karim. 

It is ridiculous to assign this as the place of the Baptist's life in the desert. The 
desert of St. John is most probably the wild desert down by the Jordan, which after- 
wards became the scene of his preaching. 

On the way back we visited the fine 
fountain of water which gives its name to the 
village. The water is abundant and good. As 
is usual the fountain was besieged by a crowd 
of barefooted dirty Arab women. Here in the 
East all the charm, grace, and refinement of 
woman's life are banished by the degrading 
conditions in which she lives. She is her hus- 
band's slave, and may be cast out and divorced 
when he wishes, without -any formal process. 

We returned by the shorter route over the 
mountain path, and reached St. Etienne at 
noon. It was a hard walk. 

To-night is dark, and rainy. With the rain 
the temperature has fallen a couple of degrees. 

November 28th. — Mass at 6:00 a. m. at 
St. Etienne. It rained during the night 
but this morning is fair. Spent the day 
studying Arabic. Day fair and cool, temper 
ature at 7:00 p. m. 44 ° Fahrenheit. 

November 29th.— Mass at St. Etienne at 6:00 a. m., weather fair and cool, temper- 
ature at 7:30 a. m. 44 Fahrenheit. 

At 3:00 p. m. we set out for an archaeological promenade with Pere Vincent. We 
went directly to the Russian convent and church built in 1882-83 near the church of 
the Holy Sepulchre. The Russian establishment is situated to the east of the church of 
the Holy Sepulchre, the distance separating the two churches is less than two hundred feet. 

We entered the Russian convent, and descended several marble steps to the site of 
one of the most important rums of Jerusalem. These rums are an ancient wall, and the 
great question is to determine what this wall was. Pere Vincent has been foremost of 
all archaeologists in studying this wall. He accepts it as the second wall of Jerusalem 
restored by Nehemiah. This theory has an important bearing on the Holy Sepulchre; 
for if we accept this as the second wall, it leaves the Holy Sepulchre outside of the city 
as it existed in the time of Christ. The advocates of the authenticity of the Holy Sepul- 
chre think that this wall removes one of the great objections against the traditional 
site of the Holy Sepulchre. 




RATISBONNE 'S GRAVE 



320 



The Second Wall of Jerusalem 



We entered and viewed the ruins. At first we came to a small arch badly construct- 
ed of stones taken from some other ruin. The stones are badly laid; fragments of 
capitals of columns are rudely misplaced, and the whole construction is a piece of patch- 
work. This is certainly a later construction without art or importance. But farther 
on we found really the ruins of a massive wall. It did not extend in an uninterrupted 
straight line but formed right angles as indicated in the design. Those who believe it to 




MUSLIM WOMAN OF SOUTHERN PALESTINE 

f have been a part of the second wall are obliged to suppose that this is the ruins of a quad- 
rangular tower in the wall. A hypothesis indicated by the dotted red line completes 
the western wall of the tower. 

Along the line indicated by the dotted red line, (see page 64) stretching across the 
map have been found at places indicated by the heavy red line fragments of walls. Hence 
these fragments have been pieced together by the aid of hypotheses, and thus a hypothet- 
ical wall has been traced, which leaves the Holy Sepulchre outside of the city. The'course 



Searching The Rrixs 



321 



of this hvpothetical wall is as crooked as a man might trace in delirium of a fever dream, 
bur its patrons are nothing daunted by that. 

I examined the wall in the Russian establishment carefully, and I am persuaded 
that it consists of two elements. There is the part which is perhaps as late as the 
seventh or eighth centurv, and under this the ancient wall is evidently a Roman wall. 
It has nothing in common with Jewish architecture. On the contrary one finds there 
the same method of construction as is found at Rome in the ancient Roman masonry; 
and even the holes are there in the great stones where the clamps of iron bound the 
stones together, exactly as one sees in the Coliseum. It is most probable that the wall 
was built by Hadrian when he rebuilt the city under the name of Aelia Capitolina. 
Its form indicates that it was not the wall of the city, but probably a fortress. 

A curious feature of the theory of those who believe that these ruins are of the 
second wall, is that they endeavor to make one believe that the top of the traditional 
Calvary is only a few feet higher than the base of the ruined wall. The contrary proof 
we have given. 

After entering the Russian Convent one descends several feet to the base of the 
wall. Hence it is certain that the base of the wall is lower than the street at this point. 
Xow this street ascends continually until one reaches the open place in front of the Church 
of the Holy Sepulchre, and then the traditional Calvary is several feet higher than the 
street in front of the church. 

TTe mounted the belfry of the German Protestant Church of the Redeemer, which 
is over across the street south of the Russian estabHshment. From that elevated point 
a fine panoramic view is obtained of all Jerusalem. One can clearlv judge from that 
point that the top of the traditional Calvary is many feet higher than the base of the 
ruined wall in the Russian Church. This is an important point, as it is highly improbable 
that a wall of defence would follow the lower ground, leaving a considerably higher 
point of ground so close on the outside. 

After a wearisome study of these ruins and hypotheses, it was a consolation to 
look over from the belfry to the Mount of Olives and realize that there at least is ground 
where the Redeemer trod; and that sanctuary is not enveloped by doubts. The whole 
Mount of Olives ought to be covered by Christian sanctuaries ; but on the contrary there 
is nothing there but some little chapels which are seldom visited. 

In the Russian Convent we saw also two ruined black granite pillars. They were 
found in the excavations, and have been placed upright. Thev belong to a series of 
columns of like form found at Jerusalem, and belong to the Roman city built by Hadrian. 
The German Church of the Redeemer is a beautiful reproduction of an ancient Byzan- 
tine church. 

November 30th. — Mass at 6. 15 a. m. at the altar of the Crucifixion on the traditional 
Calvary. As it was the feast of St. Andrew, the Franciscans celebrated a high Mass 
in the Holy Sepulchre at 7 a. m. 

The morning is fair, temperature at 7.30 a. m. 44 Fahrenheit. 

At 3.30 p. m.. Pere Germer-Durand of the Augustinian Fathers of the Assumption 
came to St. Etienne and delivered a discourse in French on the Museums of Jerusalem. 
He enumerated eleven museums in Jerusalem. There is also one in Jaffa, the private 
possession of a Russian. Of course these museums at Jerusalem with a few exceptions 
hardly merit the name of museum. They are for the most part small collections, often 
in one small room of pieces of ancient pottery, ancient utensils, coins, inscriptions etc. 



322 



False Antiquities 



Great care is necessary to detect the true from the false, as many engage in the manu- 
facture of imitations of these ancient objects. We shall visit these museums later. 

The extreme difficulty of verifying antiquities in the East is illustrated by the 
following brief history. On October 15, T872, Mr. Conder, the representative of the 
Palestine Exploration Fund informed the society that a Mr. Shapira, of Jerusalem, 
was collecting a valuable collection of ancient Moabitic earthenware. It was given out 
that Shapira had obtained it through an Arab emissary at Dhiban. It was thought 
genuine by Conder and others, and was minutely described. There were many figures 
of Astarte there and other idols, a most valuable collection. Prof. Schlotmann de- 
fended the genuineness of the inscribed pottery etc. The collection of over a thousand 
pieces soon became the talk of Jerusalem. It was ranked with the Moabitic stone. 
Hitzig and Rodiger of Germany approved it. Shapira was made an agent of the Prus- 
sian government, and his collection was bought by the German Emperor for over a 
thousand pounds sterling. 

The enterprising Shapira began to make a second collection. He easily duped 
Conder to believe all genuine. Shapira was written up in glowing terms in the Quar- 
terly Statement. Specimens of the pottery were sent to England. Figures of calves, 
of goddesses, of Baal Peor, the Priapus of Midian, and even pottery inscribed with the 
name of Yahveh. 

M. Clermont-Ganneau from the first doubted the collection, and by shrewd de- 
tective work discovered that the whole affair was a swindle, and that the pottery was 
made by an Arab at Jerusalem. We insert here M. Ganneau's own testimony: 

"The first piece of information, which put me in the right track, was given me by 
a certain Abd el Bagi, surnamed Abu Mansura. a journeyman now in the employ of 
the potter Hadj Khalil el Malhi, whose shop is between the Spanish Consulate and the 
Damascus Gate. This man, whom I questioned with the greatest care, for fear of his 
discovering the object of my curiosity, told me that he had once worked for a certain 
Selim el Gari, who made statues and vases in earthenware (terre cuite) with writings, 
but that he had left off working for him for some time. In order not to awaken sus- 
picions, I did not press my questions any further, but confined myself to asking him if 
he knew to what potter Selim now sent his vessels to be baked. Abu Mansura indicated 
a potter by name Bakir el Masry, to whom I then went. This information was not 
correct. Bakir, whose name and accent indicate his Egyptian origin, had never worked for 
Selim, but he had, and still has, in his service a young apprentice, Hassan ibn el Bitar, 
who has for a long time worked at the pottery of Ahmed 'Alawiye, at the present time 
employed by Selim, whose shop is between the Mawlawiyeh and the Damascus Gate. 

What follows is the exact narrative which I took from the mouth of Hassan, always 
being very careful to let him speak, without suggesting anything by injudicious question- 
ing:— 

'Hassan entered into the service of Bakir about four months ago: he was for- 
merly apprenticed to Ahmed, with another boy named Khalil, son of Said the barber, 
and Abu Mansura, journeyman. 

'Selim el Gari got soft clay of Ahmed, made out of it, at his own house, statues 
of men, dogs, and women, with noses, hands, feet, and breasts, the whole covered with 
writings: he also made little discs of clay like sahtout (pieces of money): then he sent 
them to Ahmed's to be baked. Ahmed also made vases for him in turn, and Selim 
wrote letters on them. 



False Antiquities 



323 



" 'It was Hassan and his fellow-apprentice Khalil who were charged with carrying 
the things from Selim's house to the shop, and vice versa. The first time Selim him- 
self took him to his house to make him know it ; he was then staying in the street called 
Haret el Djonwalide. near the Latin Patriarchate. He has since moved, and has gone 
to the street Agabat el Battikh. near the Spanish Consulate. 

' ' ' Hassan has only been once in the latter house. Selim at first addressed him- 
self to the potter. Haj Khalil el Malhi. but could not come to terms with him. 

" "Selim, after having shown his house to Hassan, gave him two beshliks: for every 
journev he made he gave him one beshlik, or a besblik and a half, sometimes two. 
To the workman, Abu Mansura, he gave one or two medjidies, and to Ahmed, a sum much 
larger (a pound, if I remember right). 

"'The journeys were made between Maghreb and the Icha; that is to say, in the 
three or four hours which follow sunset: Hassan, for his part, carried the things under an 
abaye. hiding them as much as possible, as he had been instructed. He even asserts 
that he left Ahmed in order not to continue an occupation which made him fearful of 
being arrested by the patrol. 

"'Not only were the objects minutely counted, but if anyone got broken, the very 
smallest fragments were carefully picked up. Selim gave, one day, two piastres to a 
boy who picked up a sahtout in clay that Hassan had dropped. 

'"Once they gave Hassan to carry a large statuette, still hot. which burned his 
hands, his chest, and his arms. 

"'When he brought the things to Selim, he saw him on many occasions dip them 
into a caldron filled with water; one night Hassan himself, at the request of Selim, drew 
water from the cistern to fill the caldron. Selim left them to soak for some time, and 
then took them out to dry: he said that it was to make them grow old.' 

"I insist particularly on the spontaneous character of this narrative, which I have 
purposely reproduced in its own simple and methodless style ; it contains details which 
cannot have been invented, and the exactness and veracity of which I have been able to 
establish by other means. I believe it conclusive: it is notably instructive as to the process 
adopted by Selim in order to impregnate his things with that couche of saltpetre which 
was to be their brevet of authenticity. I think that we can henceforth, with these 
elements of information, consider the matter as settled." 

This is supplemented by affidavits obtained from the Arab El Haj Abd el Baki that 
he had made the potter}- for one Selim el Kari. 

But now Oriental mendacity enters in to defend the collection. The Arabs who 
confessed the forger}*, now accuse M. Ganneau with having bribed them. As is quite 
natural those who had been duped were anxious to be vindicated. M. Ganneau was 
subjected to some severe handling. Prof. Schlottmann accused M. Ganneau of Chau- 
vinism in Archaeology. 

The controversy dragged along; there was much argument for and against the 
collection. On December 3. 1877, Professor Ad. Neubauer of the Bodleian Library 
wrote as follows: 

"No one ever believed that the Mesha inscription was the first and the last made by 
Moabites, and hopes were expressed that some other documents would turn up in the 
land of Moab. and I may add, perhaps, even in the land of Ammon. But, as to the 
potteries bought at Berlin, no official or unofficial document will ever prove their gen- 
uineness. Before Profs. Socin and Kautzsch had even the idea of investigating the 
subject. I had shown, from Prof. Schlottmann's specimens, published in the Transac- 



324 



False Antiquities 



tions of the German Oriental Society, that, from a palaeographical point of view, the 
inscriptions published by him must be a forgery, since we find there not only one and the 
same letter sometimes in the right position and sometimes upside down, but also Him- 
yaritic and even Arabic characters, which cannot occur in a genuine document of at 
least 600 B.C. It is probable that the unskilled falsifier worked with a table of alpha- 
bets, let us say with that of Gesenius. I shall not insist, either, on the shape of the 
goddess of the earth, which, according to my opinion, represents rather the type of a 
German girl — this must be left to the judgment of the archaeologists — or on a passage 
of these inscriptions which represent a permutation of a passage of the Proverbs, which 
might, perhaps, be disputed. If I am right in the last point, the falsifier must have 
been a person knowing the Hebrew text of the Bible. At all events, as I have pointed 
out, whilst no two words can be explained in the specimens published by Prof. Schlott- 
mann, not even with the professor's strange method of decipherment, by having recourse 
to all the Semitic dialects, the Mesha inscription is read with facility except in the 
broken parts. I may add that the Moabite potteries at Berlin are considered tacitly 
by all the German Semitists, with the exception of Prof. Schlottmann, as forgeries, 
otherwise the inscriptions found upon them would have been published already. I 
may remind the Imperial German Consul in the Holy Land that the Crimean tomb- 
stones with Hebrew inscriptions, mentioned in your columns, were declared by a pro- 
fessor of geology to have lain buried horizontally for 1,800 years; and, in spite of this 
statement, it is now evident, from Dr. Harkavy's researches, that the inscription, 
which was believed to be 6 B. C, is not earlier than the thirteenth century A. D. Allow 
me to express the hope that, in the further discussion concerning these Moabite an- 
tiquities, no one will imitate the example of Prof. Schlottmann, who declares, in the 
Norddeutsche Zeitung, M. Clermont Ganneau's statements to be the result of Chau- 
vinism. Science is, and ought to be, cosmopolitan, and professors have to give the 
first examples to the general public of confraternity and candor." 

The history of the forgery is thus summed up by Dr. Sprenger in the Academy of 
March 1876. 

"It is now a few years since the English press disposed of the Moabite antiquities, 
and most readers of the Academy have probably forgotten all about them. To refresh 
their memories we may be permitted to remind them that the stir caused by the sale 
of the stone of Mesa among the Arabs both in Jerusalem and in the desert was immense. 
Everywhere search was made after antiquities; in the vear 1872 almost every day 
brought some curious remains into the shop of Shapira in Jerusalem. They were of 
two kinds, both of which, though different from each other, had something in common 
with the stone which had fetched so much money. At first the discovery of stone monu- 
ments seems to have been frequent. They were not exclusively Moabitic, but resembled 
the Mesa stone inasmuch as they were all covered with inscriptions, one of them so cov- 
ered even on both sides. Of architectural ornaments or statues not a fragment turned up. 
In the eyes of scholars of the rank of Herr Weser, the value of these inscriptions was 
very great. He writes respecting one of them in the Journal of the German Asiat. 
Soc. : — 'This stone contains Psalm nj in magnificent ancient Hebrew characters, sim- 
ilar to those on the stone of Mesa. Who can tell whether it is not the original from which 
the Psalm was copied in the Holy Writ?' Some more sober Hebraists discovered 
several incongruities in the writing, and finally honest Shapira himself came to the con- 
viction that it might possibly be a forgery. It is not improbable that the archaeologists of 
Jerusalem did not go to the expense of having the original executed, yet it is clear from these 



False Antiquities 



325 



two instances that monuments in stone did not pay. They now concentrated all their 
attention on a less expensive article, ancient pottery; bearing in mind that since the 
discovery of Mesa, "Moabitica" had become the rage in Europe, and that men of the 
stamp of Weser have more taste for inscriptions than for the plastic arts. At this time 
those single-minded Arabs were very accommodating, and it might have been in the 
power of M. Ganneau to be of incalculable service to archaeology. This gentleman 
relates that he was asked what sort of inscriptions would be most acceptable. Now 
supposing that he had informed them that in Nineveh a whole library on tablets of clay 
was discovered, they would have at once understood the hint, and we may be certain 
that by this time the Museum of Berlin would be in possession of the library of Balak. 
It appears from Dr. Socin's account, that the indefatigable Shapira formed in 1872 
three collections of Moabite pottery, containing respectively 911, 473, and 410 speci- 
mens. The few drawings appended to the book before us enable the reader to form 
an opinion on the value of the contents of these collections without entering deeply into 
the text. Fig. 1 represents an idol with a cocked hat, imperial, sleepy eyes, and listless 
features. Ever}- unprejudiced person to whom we showed it took it at the first glance 
for a clumsily-made copy of a likeness of Napoleon III. Fig. 2 is a ball, surmounted 
by a shapeless head, and perfectly meaningless. The object of the artist in modeling 
it seems to have been to find room for a new sort of inscription which he had just de- 
vised. There are only twenty-four letters on the ball, but they are so queer that 
Schlottmann, who exercised his ingenuity on them, considered the inscription was bi- 
lingual, and therefore particularly important. This seems, indeed, to have been the 
intention of those who devised it and allotted to it so prominent a place. Fig. 5 is a 
clay pipe. Fig. 7 is a bust in stays, the like of which we see in shop windows in Europe. 
Figures 8 and 9 are legs with gaiters. From the descriptive part of the pamphlet we 
learn that the other specimens are no better than those delineated, and Prof. Kautzsch 
points to the fact that in the whole set a most deplorable want of invention is obser- 
vable. To the inability of the artist to devise new figures it is due that he modelled 
from objects like the picture of Napoleon, which, as he had formerly been in the service 
of M. Ganneau, it is to be presumed he had sufficient opportunity of seeing. 

Some of the pottery found its way to Stuttgart, other small lots may have been 
bought by tourists, but the honor of securing the lion's share was reserved for the Prus- 
sian Government. It bought 1,700 choice specimens for 22,000 thalers (£3,300). 
Of this sum two thousand thalers were contributed by the Emperor. In the mean- 
while the late Mr. Drake and M. Ganneau succeeded in tracing the fabrication of the 
pottery to a man of the name of Selim, and in pointing out the very oven in which it 
had been baked. The evidence which they brought forward is so conclusive that it 
would even satisfy an Irish jury if Selim had been an Irish patriot. No doubt it also 
satisfied so clear-sighted a man as Dr. Falk, the Prussian Minister of Public Instruction, 
and convinced him that he had been duped. His share in the business consists simply 
in his having run after false prophets. There were in Berlin men like Wetzstein, who 
is better acquainted with Syria and the character of its inhabitants than any other man 
in Germany, and the late Prof. Rodiger, the soundest Biblical scholar of his days ; but 
instead of consulting these the Minister applied for advice to Prof. Fleischer in Leipsic, 
whose literary pursuits never went beyond the subtleties of Arabic grammar, and to 
Prof. Schlottmann, an enthusiast, and followed them implicitly. Yet even this mis- 
take, though serious in its results, is pardonable, for these two men enjoy great celebrity 
in Germany. The Minister might, therefore, without compromising himself, have taken 



326 



The White Fathers 



such steps as circumstances demanded. He has as yet remained perfectly silent, and 
as he is a man of great energy, we can ascribe his passiveness only to a desire to spare 
the aged monarch, whose munificence has been so cruelly abused, the annoyance which 
would be caused to him by increasing the publicity of the hoax. The German Consul in 
Jerusalem, assisted by Herr Weser, as soon- as the revelations of Ganneau and Drake 
reached him, made a sham inquiry, in which the simplicity of honest Weser rendered the 
task assigned to Selim and his associates very easy. The principal witness, with Orien- 
tal complacence, contradicted the statement which he had given to Mr. Drake in writing, 
and the defendents invited the consul and Weser to an innocent game of hide and-seek 
in the fields of Moab, where they afforded Weser the opportunity of disinterring ancient 
pottery with his own hands. A report of the proceedings was published in the Journal 
of the German Asiatic Society, and therewith was done what could be done to hush up 
the matter." 

Having failed in the second attempt of the forged pottery, Shapira next turned 
his attention to manuscripts. He came to England with certain MSS. written on sheep- 
skin which he claimed to have found down in Moab. It was a text of Deuteronomy; 
but the forgery was so clumsy that the English scholars at once pronounced it an impu- 
dent forgery, in which the text was badly garbled. Clermont-Ganneau describes how 
the forger worked: 

"He took one of those large synagogue rolls of leather, containing the Pentateuch, 
written in the square Hebrew character, and perhaps dating back two or three centuries 
■ — rolls which Mr. Shapira must be well acquainted with, for he deals in them, and has 
sold to several of the public libraries of England sundry copies of them, obtained from 
the existing synagogues of Judaea and of Yemen. 

"The forger then cut off the lower edge of this roll — that which offered him the widest 
surface. He obtained in this way some narrow strips of leather with an appearance 
of comparative antiquity, which w r as still further heightened by the use of the proper 
chemical agents. On these strips of leather he wrote with ink, making use of the al- 
phabet of the Moabite stone, and introducing such 'various readings' as fancy dictated, 
the passages from Deuteronomy which have been deciphered and translated by M. 
Ginsburg, with patience and learning worthy of better employment." 

This lengthy discussion is introduced here to temper the credulity of those who so 
readily believe the opinions of rationalistic archaeologists. 

To-night a strong wind is blowing from the west; a little rain has fallen, and more 
seems likely to follow. The temperature has fallen to 42 Fahrenheit. 

December 1st. — Mass at 6 a. m. at St. Etienne. It has been a wild night. A very 
high wind prevailed all night accompanied by a deluging rain. The morning is cold, 
cloudy, and windy, temperature 42 F. The day remained windy and cool. At three 
p. m. we w r ent to the Church of St. Anne just inside the old gate of St. Stephen, or as it 
is called in Arabic Bab Sitti Maryam, "the Gate of the Virgin Mary," The church be- 
longs to the Algerine Fathers founded by Cardinal Lavigerie. They have there also a 
preparatory seminary and theological seminary for the education of priests of the 
Greek rite. The object is to aid the reunion of the Latin and Greek Churches. 

There are one hundred students in the preparatory seminary, and thirty in the 
theological seminary. All these students are supported by charity. 

The Crusaders constructed here a church out of the ruins of a more ancient church. 

When Saladin broke the power of the Crusaders in Palestine, he turned the church 
into a Muslim school. In 1856 the Turkish Sultan gave it to Napoleon III. Later it 



Life at Jerusalem 



327 



was given to Cardinal Lavigerie's congregation, and beautifully restored. The interest 
of the Church centers about the crypt. There is a cave made into a chapel, and here 
the tradition is that the Mother of God was conceived and born. St. John Damascene 
is one of the supporters of this tradition . 

It is a mere legend without foundation. It is quite certain that Mary was bom at 
Nazareth. She was of Nazareth, as is declared in the Gospel, and there is no good reason 
to believe that after her birth her parents removed to Nazareth, and again came back 
to Jerusalem to die. 

Far more important is the so-called Probatic Pool, the pool by the sheep-gate of 
John v. 2. Its entrance is a little distant from the church. We descended to its sur- 
face, but I must visit it again before I venture to express my judgment of it. 

We visited also the Museum. It is one small room, but is a good beginning. The 
most important object there is a large round stone which served among the Jews as the 
weight to weigh the talents. Its weight is 922 avoirdupois pounds. The value of its 
weight in silver- is estimated to be over two thousand dollars ; the value of its weight in 
gold must be calculated by the relative worth of gold over silver in that day, which is 
not easy to determine. Of course the purchasing power of money in those ancient 
days was more than ten times what it is to-day. This proves that the Lord in his 
parable of the talents based his illustration on large sums of money, perhaps to intimate 
the beneficence of God towards mankind. 

They have there also a valuable collection of coins. The denarius mentioned in 
the Gospels is there, and also mites such as the widow threw into the treasury. The 
stone talent is perhaps the only one yet found. The collection, though small, is helpful 
in illustrating many things mentioned in the Bible. 

The white Fathers, as they are called are very polite, and well educated. 

December 2nd. — Mass at St. Etienne at 6 a. m. It has rained all night, and is 
raining now. The rain here is not the rain that ' ' droppeth as the gentle rain from heaven 
upon the place beneath. " The rain here comes in torrents, intermittent roaring deluges 
of rain. The thermometer has fallen to 41 F. 

It has been a day of continuous torrents of rain, a day of gloom and sadness. The 
thermometer has not risen perceptibly. 

December 3rd. — Mass at 6 a. m. at St. Etienne. The night has been one of inces- 
sant rain, a downpour of great sheets of water. The rain is exceptionally heavy; cis- 
terns, which last year were never full, are now overflowing. The temperature is low._ 
42 F. 

It is still raining but not so heavily. 

In the afternoon the sky cleared a little, and the sun shone among the clouds; 
but towards evening the darkest clouds gathered again; and at 7 p. m. a cold drizzling 
rain is falling. The temperature at 7 p. m. is 39 Fahrenheit. 

I am anxious to take with me the memories of Christ, and go forth from this land 
of misery. Christ is as near to us in our new world as he is here. The absolute uncer- 
tainty which exists here regarding the Holy Places fills the soul with a strange feeling. 
Only the greater traces of the Christ are certain. It is certain that here in this land 
he was born, lived, and died. It is certain that here at Jerusalem the Redemption was 
accomplished by his Death and Resurrection. The Mount of Olives is certain; but 
there the line of certainty ceases; and we are left in a maze of conflicting hypotheses. 
One grows tired of the sight of the degradation of the wretched natives. Last night 
was one of which a man could well say: "Things that love night love not such nights as 



328 



Life at Jerusalem 



these," " — My enemy's dog, though he had bit one, should have stood last night against 
my fire. ' ' 

Across the way from St. Etienne a tribe of Nowarmen, women and children are en- 
camped in wretched tents through which the wind drives the rain from every direction. 

The poor shivering wretches draw over them their scanty dirty rags, and wait for 
the morning. The Arab "will not show his teeth in way of smile, though Nestor swear 
the jest be laughable." He is inured to misery and desolation. Even the Europeans 
who are domiciled here seem to acquire a strange reserve. Some of them are those on 
whom the world smiled not at home, and they find here the contrast not so painful. 

December 4th. — Arose at 5 a. m. The morning was clear and cold. The moon and 
stars were shining. The moonlight and starlight of the East is of far greater brilliancy 
than we receive in our western world. 

Here at Jerusalem the stillest part of the night is that which immediately precedes 
the break of day. 

We walked down by the silent walls of Jerusalem, past Gordon's Calvary, down 
across the Kidron, past the silent Garden of Gethsemane ; at which point we began the 
steep ascent of the Mount of Olives. The heavy rains of the past few days had cut 
deep trenches in the road up over the Mount; but there is as yet no water in the bed 
■of the "Torrent of Kidron." I shall watch closely to see at what point of the year 
Jvidron becomes a "torrent." 

The rain has been a blessing to the land. It is now the seed time, and in the fields 
one sees the sowers sowing their seed. Very often they sow the seed first, and then 
plough the land with their wretched plows. The slopes begin to look green, and all 
nature is less arid. The rain has benefited also the way up the Mount of Olives in that 
it has washed away the deposits of human excrement which littered the way. 

About half way up the steep side of Olivet we came to the Franciscan chapel of 
"Dominus Flevit." Here a tradition places the spot where the Lord wept over Jeru- 
salem, hence its name, "The Lord wept." This tradition is not older than the four- 
teenth century. It is absurd to fix that event to any particular spot of the mountain. 
The event is described by St. Luke xix. 29-44. The Lord came up from Jericho, and 
mounted an ass colt near Bethphage. He then began his triumphal entry into the 
temple. 

From any part of the way from a point a little higher than the Garden of Geth- 
semane even to the summit, a grand view of Jerusalem is obtainable. From the point 
where the chapel is placed the view is wonderful. All the dirt and degradation of Jeru- 
salem is hidden by the distance, and only the bold clear panorama stretches out before 
the eye, with the great place of the temple in the foreground. The Lord wept as he 
rode down the side of the Mount; hence it would be unreasonable to fix the event ex- 
clusivelv to any particular spot. But it is right and holy to venerate the event at some 
spot on the mountain side over which he came. The Russians have a church in honor 
of the same event a little higher up. 

I said mass here. The chapel is clean and well provided. Though to-day is Sun- 
day our congregation consisted of the Christian Arab custodian, his wife and four chil- 
dren. If the Lord came down over that mount again to-day, he might well weep over 
the condition of Jerusalem. 

The weather is still unsettled. At times a cloud will come up and spit a few 
drops of water, and then the sun will feebly shine. The temperature was 43 Fahrenheit 
at day-break. 



The Second Wall of Jerusalem 



329 



After dinner we visited the great establishment of Notre Dame de France, which 
is under the direction of the Augustinian Fathers of the Assumption. After Benedic- 
tion of the Blessed Sacrament in the beautiful chapel, the Very Reverend Pere Ger- 
mer-Durand conducted us to the Museum where he explained most amiably and ably 
the valuable collection. M. Germer-Durand is an eminent Palestinologist. He has 
contributed many valuable articles to the science. The Museum is especially rich in 
various objects of the stone age. There are stone arrow-heads, stone axes, stone 
weapons of warfare, stone domestic utensils etc. These have been found in the exca- 
vations of the ancient Chanaanite cities ; and they reveal the state of civilization of that 
people before the occupation of the land by the Israelites. 

Also the stone ossuaries of the Jews are most interesting. Some of them contain 
the crumbling bones of dead men. 

Out there in the awful spirit world there are disembodied spirits waiting for the 
bones which here are so lightly viewed by the pilgrims. 

It was the custom of the Jews to lay the bodies of the dead wrapped in their wind- 
ing sheets in the rock tombs, and close the outer opening. When the flesh was entirely 
decayed, they gathered the bones into these stone boxes, to make place in the tomb for 
another. These ossuaries were also preserved in niches in the tombs. In general they 
had a separate ossuary for the bones of each individual, but sometimes the bones of 
husband and wife were placed in the same ossuary. The cover of the ossuary destined 
for the man was oval, while the cover of the ossuary of the woman formed an ob- 
tuse angle. 

The collection of ancient coins here is valuable. There is also there a seal of the 
Holy Sepulchre. 

Another interesting object is a great round stone weighing ninety avoirdupois 
pounds which w^as used by the Romans in the siege of Jerusalem. This corresponds to 
the statement of Josephus that the Romans in that siege used stones of the weight of a 
talent. Pere Germer-Durand has made a series of maps illustrating the growth of the 
city from its origin as the little village of the Jebusites up to its greatest expansion 
comprised by the wall of Agrippa. He believes that Hinnom is identical with the 
Tyropoeon of Flavius Josephus, and that consequently its course was from the present 
northern wall southeasterly past the temple. Of course in the present state of Jeru- 
salem this valley is so filled up that only from a point of vantage one can trace a de- 
pression in the level of the city. 

Pere Germer-Durand discards the famous theory of Pere Vincent, that the ruins 
found in the Russian Convent are remains of the wall of Herod the Great. He assigns 
an entirely different line to that wall, and rightly believes the ruins in the Russian es- 
tablishment to be a Roman wall perhaps of the time of Constantine the Great. Pere 
Germer-Durand places the site of the Holy Sepulchre outside of the second wall, and he 
strongly defends its authenticity; but the theory of Pere Vincent is at least extrinsi- 
cally enfeebled by the contrary authority of this eminent scholar. 

Those who are not able to visit Madaba, and see there in the Greek Church the 
celebrated Mosaic map of Palestine may view here a fine cut of it. 

December s th.— Mass at 6 a. m. at St. Etienne. Weather cloudy, temperature at 
7.30 a. m., 4 o° Fahrenheit. The day has remained cloudy and cold; at 5.30 p. m. a driz- 
zling rain set in. 

We walked out towards Bethany by the carriage road which bends round the south- 
ern slope of the Mount of Olives. We then turned northward by a path and came up 



330 



Church of St. Anne 



on the summit of the Mount. From a careful observation I am convinced that in the 
time of our Lord the way from Jerusalem to Jericho did not follow the direction of the 
present wagon road. This present highway has been adapted for carriages, and for 
that reason takes a circuitous route to avoid the steep mountain. 

December 6th. — Mass at St. Etienne at 6 a. m. It is a dark rainy morning. It 
is a gentler rain than that of a few days ago. It has rained the greater part of the 
night. The temperature at 7.15 is 41° Fahrenheit. 

It has rained the greater part of the day. 

At three p. m. we visited the Museum of the Franciscans. They have a fine collec- 
tion of ancient coins. We then went down to the Kidron, but found no water flowing 
in its bed. There are in its bed traces where the water rushed during the great showers. 
The temperature remains stationary. 

December 7th. — Mass at 6 a. m. at St. Etienne. It rained much during the night, 
but at daybreak it ceased. The clouds obscure the heavens. The temperature at 
7 a. m. is 47 Fahrenheit. 

Early in the forenoon it began again to rain, and during the rest of the day a heavy 
rain fell. The unpleasantness of life at Jerusalem is much aggravated by this long cold 
rain. The temperature remains at 43 Fahrenheit. 

December 8th. — Feast of the Immaculate Conception. Arose a little after five 
a. m. 

Last evening the great hospice of Notre Dame de Sion and the Franciscan Church 
of San Salvatore were beautifully illuminated. The lights of Notre Dame de Sion 
were arranged to form a great letter M surmounted by a crown. The lights on the 
Church of San Salvatore were arranged with great art. The campanile stood out 
against the dark background of the southern sky like a great tower of stars. As I am 
now writing the illuminations are still greater. Casa Nuova is studded with lights; 
St. Etienne also displayed a number of lights. 

The day has been a festal day for Christian and Muslim. To-day Ramadan, the 
Islam month of fasting came to an end, and the whole Muhammadan population cele- 
brated the day. As to-day is also the semicentenary of the declaration of the Immacu- 
late Conception, the day is an important day for the Christians. 

We went to the Church of St. Anne to say Mass at six a. m. Here is the traditional 
site of the Blessed Virgin's conception and birth, and we said Masses in the chapel in 
the crypt of the church which was originally a cave. I am fully persuaded that the 
Mother of God was not born here, but it is of faith that she was conceived without 
sin; it is certain that she was in Jerusalem; hence as this chapel is especially dedi- 
cated to that event, it is well to say Mass there. 

The chapel is beautiful, the whole church gives evidence of the devotion of the 
white Fathers of Lavigerie. 

We breakfasted with them and afterwards assisted at a high Mass sung by the 
Greek boys of the preparatory seminary. They sung a Mass of Gounod very correctly 
and with much spirit. Whatever may be hoped for the Church of the Greek rite in the 
East must come from such efforts as these good fathers are making- to educate a com- 
petent clergy of the Greek rite. 

In the Greek Church the feast of the Immaculate Conception is celebrated on the 
ninth of December, consequently to-morrow will be the principal celebration at the 
Church of St. Anne. 



Bethany 



331 



At three p. m. we took our favorite walk out towards Bethany. We had intended 
to go up over the summit of the Mount of Olives, the shorter way ; but a certain event 
changed our plans. As we came down past the Bab Sitti Mary am or St. Stephen's 
gate a company of Jews came out of the gate bearing a dead man on a bier. They were 
twelve in number, all men, and they took turns in carrying the dead man. A Turkish 
soldier rode behind as a guard. The bier consisted of two poles with cross pieces of 
iron clasps. The dead man was wound in a winding sheet, and his head was completely 
wrapped in a napkin. A blanket was thrown over him. We followed the grim pro- 
cession of poor ragged individuals until they came to the place of burial out by the side 
of the high-way of Jericho. The grave-digger had not yet finished digging the grave 
so the Jews placed the bier on the ground and waited for the grave to be completed. 
It was a weird sight. The Jews at Jerusalem are ragged and dirty. At each side of their 
heads just in front of their ears hangs a long curl of hair, giving them a strange effemi- 
nate appearance. 

While the grave was being dug they smoked, talked, and joked with one another, 
manifesting no thought of the solemnity of the occasion. 

As the shallow grave was judged completed, one of the Jews drew off his boots, 
and descended into the grave. The others threw off the blanket from the dead man, 
and handed the body to the man standing in the grave. The blood had flowed from 
the mouth of the dead man, making a ghastly spectacle. The Jew standing in the 
grave laid the body in the grave on stones which they had arranged to cover the bottom 
of the grave. He then placed thin flat stories at each side of the corpse, and over these 
long transverse stones so that a rude stone coffin was formed about the body. The 
Jew who stood in the grave then came out of it and they filled it with earth. No sign 
of religion was present. It was the weirdest burial that I ever saw. 

We then continued our walk out towards Bethany. We walked until we came 
opposite Bethany. The path over the mountain at this point is several hundred feet 
north-west of the village of Bethany. It is quite certain that this path marks the ancient 
road to Jericho, and I am convinced that it was at this point that the Ascension took 
place. St. Luke declares: "And he led them out until they were over against Bethany: 
and he lifted up his hands, and blessed them. And it came to pass, while he blessed 
them, he parted from them, and was carried up into Heaven." — Luke xxiv. 50-51. 
The slope of the Mount of Olives just above the site of the present village of Bethany is. 
the only spot which corresponds to the description given by St. Luke. The traditional 
site on the top of the Mount of Olives is not over against Bethany, but distant more 
than half a mile. Bethany could never have been visible from the traditional site. 

If Jesus led the Apostles to the summit of the Mount of Olives, and there ascended, 
it would be ridiculous to suppose that St. Luke would not locate the event on the mount , 
especially as the events of Jesus' life had made it so well known in the Gospels. Luke's 
text plainly indicates that Jesus led them to a place which could best be located by its 
proximity to Bethany. This view is not overthrown by the passage of Acts, i. 12: 
"Then they returned unto Jerusalem from the mount called Olivet, which is nigh unto 
Jerusalem, a Sabbath day's journey off." It is not said that in returning, the Apostles 
only traveled a Sabbath's journey, but that the Mount of Olives is thus distant from 
Jerusalem. According to Mark, xi. i, Bethany is at the Mount of Olives. The fact 
therefore is that at about a Sabbath's journey from Jerusalem the Mount of Olives 
begins. On the south-east slope of the mountain stood Bethany, and near that village 
Christ ascended into Heaven. 



332 



Life at Jerusalem 



We returned down over the side of the Mount of Olives, and lingered in the stillness 
of the evening at the wall of the Garden of Gethsemane, and thought of that fearful 
night in which Jesus prayed and suffered an agony in that Garden. 

The great fact of the Redemption of the world is so intimately impressed on Jerus- 
alem and its surroundings, that it seems a profanation to do anything else or think of 
anything else here but of the memories of Jesus Christ. Great changes have come over 
Jerusalem. Centuries of vicissitudes have obliterated many traces of the Redeemer; 
but Jerusalem remains ; and here Jesus lived among men ; here he taught men ; these are 
the ways which he trod; here he died; and here he arose. The event is too great to be 
comprehended. 

The day has been pleasant. The rain ceased last night. When the sun shines 
in these winter months, it is pleasant at Jerusalem. As the sun goes down there is a 
marked fall of temperature. Now at to:oo p. m. the thermometer registers 41 Fahren- 
heit. 

December gth. — Mass at 6:00 a. m. at St. Etienne. The morning is beautiful. 
The sun is shining, and the sparrows are chirping. One never hears the beautiful sing- 
ing of birds here; sparrows, ravens and hawks are the only birds which I have seen. 

The temperature at 7:00 a. m. is 40 Fahrenheit. 

At noon the temperature rose to 55 Fahrenheit, at 7:30 p. m. it is 43 Fahrenheit 
with a clear sky. 

This afternoon we took a walk down through the Kidron Valley and up by the 
traditional Hakeldama, through the Wadi er-Rababi to the Jaffa gate. In the beds of 
the valleys great ditches have been dug by the recent heavy rains. The hillsides also 
are furrowed by the water which rushed down their sides. It is for this cause that the 
beds of these valleys are called torrents; not that there is a continual flow of water there; 
but because in the time of the rain the water rushes down the hillsides, and forms a 
torrent in the bed. Exaggeration is deeply imprinted on the language of the East; a 
little hill was called a mountain ; a cluster of houses bounded by a wall two hundred feet 
square is called a walled city; and the water which temporarily rushes through the valley 
during the time of the rain gives the permanent name of torrent to the bed of the valley. 

As we came up between the rocks of the southern valley the lepers were returning 
to their home on the hillside of Siloah. Men. women and children made up the sad 
procession. They go up to the principal road that enters Jerusalem by the Jaffa Gate, 
and there they sit by the road side and beg. They are the synthesis of all human misery. 
Some are blind, some are dumb, all are maimed by the dreadful disease. They stretch 
out the stumps of their hands, and utter the most universal word of the East, "back- 
shish." The one alleviation of their misery is that they have never known what happi- 
ness is. The heart sickens at the sight of such human misery. 

December 10th. — Mass at St. Etienne at 6:00 a. m. Morning fair and sunny. At 
this season of the year a very heavy dew falls, which glistens in the morning light like 
liquid silver. The temperature at 8:00 a. m. is 44 Fahrenheit. 

It has been a beautiful day. The thermometer at midday registered 55 Fahren- 
heit. At a little before 3:00 p. m. we visited the Tombs of the Judges. 

A few feet north of the Church of St. Etienne the way parts. We took the left 
hand way, and crossed at right angles the main road running eastward. We traveled 
north by a path through a field encumbered by stones. After a walk of thirty minutes 
straight onward we saw at the right side of the way an ancient tomb cut in the rock. 



Tomb of the Judges 



333 



It now serves as a cistern. The rock is cut down perpendicularly in front, and at the 
right side is a trough cut in the rock. 

Here we turned to the right in a direction diagonal to the main path, and passing 
over a little rise of land, we came to a great tomb called the "Tomb of the Judges." 
The origin of the tomb is unknown ; the present title arose from a belief that it was the 
tomb of the members of the great Council of the postexilic times. 

The rock is cut perpendicularly, forming a great right angle in the rock of the 
hill side. The sides of this angle are about thirty feet long. In the eastern wall of this 
cutting is the entrance to this tomb ornamented by a border in relief, and a cornice with 




TOMB OF THE JUDGES 

leaves in relief. The first entrance is cut into the solid rock entering it ten feet. It is 
about thirteen and one-half feet wide and originally must have been about twelve feet 
high ; but the soil in front has filled up several feet. 

In the inner wall at the farther end of this entry is the real entrance to the tomb 
It is a rectangular cut through the rock about two feet wide by five feet high. This 
admits to the first chamber cut out in the solid rock. In its present condition it is 
about eight feet high, and twenty feet square. In the northern wall are two tiers of 
oven-shaped graves which the Hebrews call "Kokim." The Germans call them schieb- 
graber. They are tunneled into the walls of the chambers at right angles to the walls 
of the chamber. The upper tier of six graves are arranged in three pairs. In front of 



334 



Tomb of the Judges 




"KOKIM" 

same plane as 



-From a Photograph by Dr. Hecjl 



every pair there is a small arcosolium two feet deep, with Its shelf on the same plane 
as the oven shaped graves. I thrust my body feet foremost into one of the graves, and 
found that while my feet touched the inner rock at the end of the grave my head was 

several inches inside the mouth of 
the grave; its penetration into the 
rock is about six and one-half feet. 

The graves of the upper tier are 
fifteen inches wide, two feet high, 
arched overhead. The graves of 
the lower tier are a little larger. 

In the western wall, the en- 
trance wall, there is one grave 
similar to those described at its 
angle with the northern wall. At 
its northern side it has two large 
niches, presumably for the ossuaries. 

Through the eastern wall of 
the room just described one enters 
into the second chamber on the 
the first. This room is nine feet square at the base and six feet 
high. In the north, east, and south walls of this chamber are two tiers of oven 
shaped graves, three in the lower tier and four in the upper tier, of the dimensions of 
those of the lower tier in first room. At the base of the graves of the upper tier the 
rock is cut away forming a shelf of two feet in front of the graves, so that the room 
at this level is thirteen feet by eleven feet. 

Returning now to the first main chamber we enter a chamber through an opening 
in its southern wall, four feet high and eighteen inches wide. The room is nine feet by 
nine feet. On the plane of the floor are three oven-shaped graves in every wall except 
the wall of entrance, which has none. The chamber is six feet high. The dimensions 
of the graves in all the rooms are 
nearly identical. 

In the north, east, and south 
walls of this chamber instead of 
upper tiers of graves are fine arco- 
solia, one in every one of the three 
walls. The top of the arch of the 
arcosolium is flush with the plafond 
of the chamber. The shelf is two 
feet, three inches above the floor of 
the chamber, and it enters the wall 
of rock a little over two feet. 

Returning now again to the 
first chamber we descend through 
an opening in its east wall near 
the angle with the north wall into 
the lower story of the necropolis, 
eighteen inches wide 



mem 
3? -4 




"KOKIM" — From a Photograph by Dr. Hecjl 

The opening is twenty-seven inches high by 
We descended two rock steps, and then slid down a little in- 
clined plane into a chamber seven feet by five feet, and six feet high. The plafond of 



The Greek Mass 



335 



this little chamber is one foot lower than the floor of the main chamber from which we 
entered. A bank of rock eight inches wide and the same in height runs around the four 
sides. In the wall of entrance at its angle with the north wall is one grave like those 
described. Another similar grave is in the center of the north wall. In the south wall 
there is an oven-shaped grave which, after penetrating the rock a little over two feet, 
broadens out several inches. 

Through an opening in the east wall of this little chamber two feet by fourteen 
inches, we enter a chamber, the plane of whose floor is three feet lower than the floor of 
the little chamber from which we enter it. A block of the rock two feet long, eight inches 
wide and eight inches high has been left at the inner side of the opening to facilitate the 
descent. This room is twelve feet square, and six feet six inches high. In the lower 
part of its walls are no graves, but at a distance of two and one-half feet from the floor 
arcosolia are cut into the north, east, and south walls, entering the rock about two feet. 
Four oven-shaped graves, as those before described, enter the rock in the inner wall of 
the south arcosolium, and the same number are disposed in the same way in the north 
arcosolium, In the east wall three graves are cut in the same way into the wall of the 
arcosolium. At the south end of this arcosolium an oven-shaped grave enters the rock 
at right angles to the three in the east wall. 

At the northern end of the same arcosolium an opening is cut in the rock which 
for eighteen inches retains the form of an oven-shaped grave. Its floor then sinks over a 
foot, and it widens out into an irregular chamber about three feet by four feet, and 
four and one-half feet High. In its northeast angle a deep groove is cut vertically into 
the wall of rock. 

We returned now to the first main chamber, and through an opening three feet by 
eighteen inches in the southwest corner , we descend five steps into an unfinished cham- 
ber. Through an opening in the plafond many large stones have been thrown into 
this chamber filling about one-fourth of its space. It is about eighteen feet by fifteen 
feet, and six feet high. No graves are finished in it ; but grooves appear, showing where 
graves were contemplated and begun. 

December nth. — -Arose at 4:30 a. m. If one will sleep at Jerusalem, he must 
accustom himself to the barking of dogs and the crowing of cocks. Shakespeare says: 

"Some say that ever 'gainst that season comes 
Wherein our Saviour's birth is celebrated, 
The bird of dawning singeth all night long." 

The cocks of Jerusalem better the saying ; for they sing all the nights long. 

We went down through the silent street of Jerusalem, down through the traditional 
Via Dolorosa to the Church of St. Anne, which is close by the site of the Temple. There 
I said Mass again for all dear to me in the Chapel of the Immaculate Conception. I 
feel great devotion in this chapel. The devotion to the Mother of God, "our tainted 
nature's solitary boast," is so beautiful , and again I love to be with the noble White 
Fathers of the Desert. 

After our Mass we assisted at a high Mass celebrated there in the Greek rite. The 
Greek and Latin rites are identical in the fact that in both rites bread and wine are con- 
secrated and transubstantiated into the real Body and Blood of Christ. This essential 
unity permits many ritual points of difference. The bread in the Greek rite must be 
leavened. The Greek rite permits and demands when possible a plurality of consecrat- 
ing priests. Often as many as twenty-five priests take part in the Mass, and every one 



336 



The Greek Mass 



really says Mass, and consecrates with the chief priest. This in the Latin rite is only 
verified in the ordination of priests. Moreover, the Greeks have no low Mass. The 
priests of the united Greek rite, of whom I am speaking, say a daily Mass; but it always 
demands a certain amount of chant, incense, and solemnitv. 

The Greek never genuflects in his liturgy. The genuflection is supplied bv a pro- 
found bow, always accompanied by the sign of the cross. The body is bent into a right 
angle at the hips, and a solemn sign of the cross is made, wherein the right shoulder is 
signed before the left. No man can enumerate the number of these bows and signs of 
the cross; they take place at every moment. The Greeks call the act ^eravola^ that 
is "repentance." 

The officiating deacons and subdeacons are clothed in tunics and stoles; the priests 
put on over this a flowing long chasuble. 

The Mass is accompanied by a continuous monotonous sad chant. The response 
Kyrie Eleison, "Lord have mercy on us," is repeated at most frequent intervals. 

The incensations are frequent and most solemn. Everything is incensed. The 
words of consecration are spoken aloud so that the people may hear them. The formula, 
of the consecration of the bread is the complete formula as found in the Gospel of St. 
Luke xxii. 19. The words of the consecration of the Cup do not differ in substance from 
the Latin formula. 

The bread is divided into small pieces, and placed on a golden plate. This plate is 
about eight inches in diameter, with a raised rim about three-fourths of an inch in height. 
It thus is in form a shallow basin. 

After the consecration comes the eiriK\r]GL<;, or solemn invocation of the saints. 
This is an important element in the Greek church. The veneration of the saints is 
greatly developed in the Greek church. In fact, in the Schismatic Greek Church it has 
lapsed into heresy; and they assign to the epiklesis the power of transubstantiation. 

In the Greek rite the primal rite of excluding the Catachumens still endures, and 
before the consecration the deacon announces to the Catachumens to leave the church. 

At the Communion the priest takes one of the pieces of consecrated bread from the 
plate, or basin and consumes it. He then drinks a portion of transubstantiated 
wine from the chalice. Then he gives a piece of the bread to every one of the deacons 
present. They receive it standing, receiving it in their hands. They then retire to the 
rear of the altar in a single file and there eat the bread out of their hands. They return 
to the altar, and all drink in turn from the chalice. 

After this all the remaining pieces of the consecrated host are placed in the Cup, 
and mixed with the wine. A golden spoon is placed in the Cup, and the priest and 
deacon go down to give Communion to the people. The people receive the Communion 
standing. The priest takes with the little spoon a small piece of the consecrated bread 
now saturated with the consecrated wine from the Cup, and places it in the open mouth 
of the communicant. The deacon holds the plate under the chin of the communicant 
lest the sacred Host should fall. In fact, to-day, a piece did fall on the plate, and the 
deacon with his hand replaced it in the Cup. 

After the Communion, the priest and deacon returned to the altar. The Cup con- 
taining what remained of the consecrated Bread and Wine was removed to a side table, 
by the subdeacon. The priest blessed the people and withdrew. The subdeacon then 
went to the side-table, consumed what remained of the Bread and Wine in the Cup, and 
purified it. 



The Field of Blood 



337 



The genius of the Orient is indelibly impressed on the Greek rite ; it would never do 
for the West. The Church has shown great wisdom in adapting the several liturgies to 
the genius of the various peoples. The unity is preserved: the non essentials differ. 

The day is beautiful, temperature at S:oo a. m. 50° Fahrenheit, sky slightly cloudy, 
but warm sunlight. 

At 3:00 p. m. we walked out through the Wady er-Rababi down to its junction 
with the Kidron valley. The valley runs south till it passes the traditional Zion. It 
then curves eastward. In the walls of rock along its southwestern and southern 
slope are many tombs hewn in the rock. None of them merit special mention. Some- 




HAKELDAMA 



where in the slope of this valley south of Jerusalem is the probable site of Hakeldama, 
but the exact site is so uncertain that it is useless to try to determine it. The data of 
the Scriptures are so meagre that they determine nothing of the site of the field. In 
the later history of Jerusalem the name was lost; and we have nothing but the later 
traditions which are the creation of imagination. Every day my conviction is strength- 
ened that none of the traditions bridge over the lacuna that lies between the building 
of Aelia Capitolina by Hadrian in 135 and the coming of Helena in 326. After that 
epoch without any attention to intrinsic evidences the early Christians and also the 
Crusaders located the events as pious imagination suggested. We are only certain of 



338 



Jerusalem 



those sites whose nature prevents their misplacement, such as the Mount of Olives, the 
Garden of Gethsemane, and Kidron. 

December 12th. — Mass at St. Etienne at 6:00 a. m. at the altar dedicated to St. 
Etienne which is a sort of Confessional before the high altar. One has the right to say 
here the Mass of St. Etienne every day in the year except such feasts as Christmas and 
Easter. While I believe that the church should more properly be dedicated to the 
Holy Sepulchre; yet since the Mass of the Holy Sepulchre is not here conceded, I love 
to say the Mass of the great protomartyr Stephen. He manifests such greatness of soul. 
Standing there with a noble contempt of death, he overpowers all his adversaries by the 
power of the Gospel of Christ. It is so grand to direct the. soul's attention to him as 
he looks up to Heaven, and declares to the Jews that he sees the Son of God standing 
on the right hand of God. And like his divine Master, with his dying voice he prays 
for pardon for those who stoned him to death. 

The morning is beautiful. The sun is shining out of a cloudless sky ; the temperat- 
ure at 7:30 a. m. is 46 Fahrenheit. 

The day has remained fair and warm. At noon the temperature was 52° Fahren- 
heit; at 9:00 p. m., it is 48 Fahrenheit. 

We walked out and again ascended the Mount of Olives this afternoon. The 
whole mount recalls the tenderest memories of Jesus. It was his resting place at night 
during the last days of his life . It is impossible to fix on particular spots, but the whole 
mount is a sanctuary. From any part of its eminence one obtains a comprehensive 
view of Jerusalem. 

As one stands on the Mount of Olives and gazes over Jerusalem the mind goes back 
in retrospection over the wondrous history of that city. It is now an ugly ruin; all its 
beauty is gone. There where once was the mercy seat of Yahveh stands the abomination 
of a Muslim mosque. Its streets are filled with misery, dirt, and ignorance. It is like 
the rotten skeleton of a body which once was beautiful, but from which the spirit has 
fled. But still the memories of the great events which have been accomplished there 
cling round it. It was the culmination of the glory of the First Covenant, and the 
birthplace of the new. It was the city of God's choice, his own holy city; but its great 
crime lost to it its birthright. It is now the city of God's curse. It lies there a ruin 
in a land of ruins. The accumulations of the debris of centuries obscure all its ancient 
landmarks. The memories of the Old Testament and of the New fill the whole city, but 
when one seeks for particular sites, then one finds himself in a wearysome maze of 
hypotheses. 

December 13th. — Mass at 6:00 a. m. at the Franciscan Chapel of the Scourging of 
Our Lord. It is on the traditional Via Dolorosa, down near the Turkish barracks, 
which are supposed to be situated on the site of Pilate's Praetorium. All these traditions 
are vain. No man knows where the Praetorium stood, or where Jesus was scourged. 
But we know that the event took place at Jerusalem ; and as this chapel is appointed to 
commemorate the event, it is most fitting to say Mass there. 

If a man thinks rightly, the archaeological uncertainty injures in nothing the 
fervor of devotion. All Jerusalem is a sanctuary of memories of Jesus, and one must 
prescind from the circumscribed particular spot of each particular sanctuary, and raise 
the mind to the loftier contemplation that this whole city and its environs were the the- 
atre of the Redemption of the world. If the guardians of the Holy Places had made the 
honest acknowledgement of the uncertainty of the particular sites of the sanctuaries ; 



Life in the East 



339 



and had clung to the larger truth that Jerusalem is a sanctuary, much good would have 
accrued to the cause of the Catholic Church. 

The weather is beautiful, a cloudless sky, and a temperature of 48 Fahrenheit at 
7:30 a. m. 

At midday the temperature rose to 57 Fahrenheit. 

At 3:00 p. m. we went with Pere Vincent to visit the Coptic and Abyssinian Cloisters. 
They adjoin each other at the eastern side of the Church of the Holy Sepulchre. Many 
traces of Bvzantine architecture are found here. They are labyrinthine masses of ruins 
upon ruins thrown together in the wildest disorder. Everywhere one sees the most 
repulsive filth and degradation. The soul grows weary of contemplating ruined walls, 
columns, and capitals, and ragged dirty and ignorant Orientals. The object of a visit to 
these cloisters is to gain an idea of the precincts of the ancient Church of the Sepulchre. 
These cloisters have been constructed on the ruins of that ancient structure. 

December 14. — Mass at 6:00 a. m. at the traditional Calvary for my friends. Its 
local charm and power to impress are gone for me. The proven certainty that it can not 
be the place where the Lord was crucified robs it of that concentrating effect which once 
it had, and merges it into the more comprehensive realization that we are venerating 
these great events at Jerusalem, where they took place. 

The weather is beautiful. The sun shines all day long, and at night the moon and 
stars flood the earth with a pale spectral light. 

At 8:00 a. m. Fahrenheit's thermometer stands at 46 . 

The day has continued fair; at 9:00 p. m., the temperature is 52 Fahrenheit. 

December 15th. — Mass at St. Etienne at 6:00 a. m. The morning is beautiful. 
There is not a cloud in the sky; the temperature at 7:30 a. m. is 50 Fahrenheit. But 
though the day is so beautiful , there is not that gladness and exultation in nature that a 
similar day would produce in our land. The impress of misery is on everything here. 

One never sees happy home scenes, or pure sweet faced children in their mothers' 
arms. The children here are not numerous, and those that are here manifest no loving 
mother's care. The mother's instinctive love of her child is not radically eradicated 
from the mothers of this land; but the wretched conditions of their lives prevent its 
development. The children lie about in their rags and dirt and stupid ignorance; while 
the ignorant, barefooted, ragged mother attends to the menial tasks of her slavish life. 
She has no education, no ideals, no love. At the whim of her husband she may be 
divorced and sent forth from his house. The benumbed, deadened sensibilities of the 
poor wretches realize not the unhappiness of their lot. Their eyes open in life, and 
their eyes close in death upon an endless succession of misery and degradation. 

At noon the thermometer registered 62 Fahrenheit. At 6:00 p. m. the temperature 
is 54 Fahrenheit. 

This afternoon I walked out through the fields north east of Jerusalem, and observed 
the ploughing. Two small asses were yoked to one plow; an ox and an ass were yoked 
to the other. The horses, cows, oxen, and asses here are much smaller than those of 
America. The ox which I observed to-day at the plow was not larger than our yearling 
calf. The poor beasts were galled, and half starved. The plowman held a long goad in 
his hand, and used it freely. Urged on by this and by continuous yells the beasts 
dragged the slight plow through the soft earth among the stones. These stunted starv- 
ing beasts could never plough a furrow of our land; and the Arab plow would never serve 
on an American farm. 



340 



The Tomb of the Blessed Virgin 



December 16th. — Mass at 6:00 a. m. at St. Etienne. Weather fair; tempera ture 
at 7:30 a. m., 46 Fahrenheit. 

In the afternoon we walked out on the road towards Bethlehem. The weather is 
wonderful. Not a cloud in the sky by day or by night. The Oriental night is a glory 
of nature. At 6:00 p. m. the temperature is 52 Fahrenheit. 

One is struck here by the moral distance which divides him from the dwellers of 
this land. It seems as great as though the men of this land belonged to another universe, 
and had another destiny. The differences of language, creed, customs, and character 




entrance to church of tomb of blessed virgin 
unite to form an impassable moral barrier between the pilgrim and the inhabitants of 
this land. 

There is nothing of the strenuous life here. Nature here is such that man needs 
but little, and lie spends the greater part of his life in aimless idleness. 

December 17th. — Mass at St. Etienne at 6:00 a. m. There has been a slight frost 
during the night, but the morning is beautiful. The blue vault of heaven is not marred 
by any sign of a cloud; the temperature at 7:00 a. m. is 46 Fahrenheit. 

At 3:00 p. m. we went down across the Kidron, and visited the Church built over 
the traditional grave of the Blessed Virgin. It is just across the way to the left from 
the Garden of Gethsemane, and near to the Grotto of the Agony. 

This church was built by Melisendis (tn6i), the daughter of King Baldwin II. of 
Jerusalem. The tradition which assigns this site as the grave of the Blessed Virgin 
may be traced back to the fifth century. At that date a chapel stood here. The pres- 



Tomb of the Blessed Virgin 



341 



ent church is in the possession of the Greeks and Armenians who draw lines on the pave- 
ment fixing their respective parts. Altars of these two rites are distributed through 
the church. A great feature of Oriental church decoration is a series of small olive oil 
lamps suspended above the altars and venerated places. They are often of silver, but 
the general impression that they make is most disagreeable. 

The several rites are very jealous of their rights to maintain these lamps and hence 
by law it is established how many each rite shall have where several rites share the same 
sanctuary. Here an equal number belongs to Greeks and Armenians. The Latin 
rite is not represented in the sanctuary . 




TOMB OF THE VIRGIN MARY 



The church is built in the form of a great cave in the earth. One descends to the 
pavement of the church by forty-seven large stone steps. This spacious descent is 
vaulted by fine stone arches, and the whole architecture of the church is fine. On the 
way down one sees on the right two altars built over the traditional tombs of Joachim 
and Anna the traditional parents of the Blessed Virgin. Opposite on the left side is an 
altar over the traditional tomb of St. Joseph. The Greeks have the tombs of Joachim 
and Anna ; the Armenians the tomb of St. Joseph. 

Descending to the pavement of the chapel proper, we find ourselves thirty-five feet 
below the level of the open place in front of the church. 

The chapel proper is a long corridor in the earth, running east and west, at right 
angles to the descent. The chapel is ninety-five feet long and about twenty feet broad. 



342 



Church of St. Anne. 



Toward the eastern end of this long corridor is the traditional tomb of the Blessed 
Virgin. The Greeks and Armenians have equal rights here. Though some of the lamps 
which are suspended here are of silver,' the tomb has an unsightly appearance. It is in 
the form of a shelf of rock covered with marble slabs, and disposed as an altar. The 
draperies of the altar are dirty, as is everything in the church. There is a well of water 
in the church, and the Greeks and Armenians have each their bucket to draw therefrom. 
They consider the water of miraculous power to heal diseases. Truly here in the East, 
religion is competitive. 

Of the authenticity of this sanctuary the most that can be said is that as far as con- 




CHURCH OF ST. ANNE— JERUSALEM 



cerns the Blessed Virgin Mary, it is a possible tradition. Against it is another tradition 
that the Blessed Virgin went to Ephesus with St. John, and there died. Both traditions 
may be false, or one may be true. There is no certainty possible. 

The day has continued fair, temperature at 7 130 p. m. 49 Fahrenheit. 

December 18th. — Mass at 6:00 a. m. at the Altar of the Immaculate Conception 
in the Church of St. Anne. The morning is beautiful. It is a relief to look up from 
the face of the earth disfigured by filth, ignorance and misery to the blue vault of the 
cloudless heaven, where all is sublime and pure. 

I am always happy to go to the Church of St. Anne. I always meet Father Antoine, 
and his conversation is so pleasant and instructive. If all the priests of France were 
like him, the present condition of France would never have been. 



Life at St. Etienxe. 



343 



These good Fathers are making progress in Algiers. Thev went there and found a 
land besotted in vices and ignorance. Loathsome diseases were prevalent, caused by 
widespread licentiousness. The government of France was hostile to any conversions 
among the natives, as one of the projects of Napoleon III. was to be sovereign of a Mu- 
hammadan State. Against all these odds Lavigerie and his noble band worked, and 
to-day they have over eight hundred converts to the Catholic Faith. This number 
may seem small to one who understands not the difficulty of converting a Muslim ; but 
one ma\- be helped to understand it by the fact that such a number of converts has not 
been made in all Syria in the centuries that the Missionaries have been established here. 




VALLEY OF JOSAPHAT 

The number of Roman Catholics in Syria is vastly more numerous ; the number in Jeru- 
salem, and its environs is estimated at four thousand; but they are not converted 
Muslims. 

There is no work done to-day by any body of priests at Jerusalem which can equal 
in value to the Church the work being done by the White Fathers of Lavigerie in edu- 
cating a competent Greek clergy for the needs of the Orient. 

To-day we had an Advent sermon at St. Etienne by Pere Abel. The echo in the 
church is very bad. I can not understand why the French language ever obtained its 
world-wide standing. It is a language of smothered repressed sounds ; a language unfit 
for poetry, preaching, or music; a language whose native deformity is only partially 
concealed by the rapidity with which it is spoken. It unfits those who speak it to 



344 



Church of the Holy Sepulchre 



speak any other language. The men of no other nation pronounce Latin as badly as the 
French. It is the product of an indolent race who refused the effort of pronouncing 
in a natural manner the Latin and Celtic roots, and preferred nasal grunts to the vigor 
of a clear and full enunciation. It is now fast losing its influence, and English is 
becoming the great language of the world. 

The temperature at 9:00 p. m. is 50 Fahrenheit. 

December 19th. — Mass at St. Etienne at 6:00 a. m., temperature at 7:30 a. m. 46 
Fahrenheit. Dew extremely heavy, sky clear. 

At noon the temperature rose to 37 ; at 6:00 p. m. it is j6° Fahrenheit. 

After the class in Arabic we took a walk out to the Tombs of the Judges. There 
are no beautiful walks here. Wherever the foot of man treads it encounters a stone. 
The landscape all about is a succession of bare, desolate, rocky hills. With their wretched 
plows they dig up the scanty patches of earth among the rocks and sow there the grain. 
On these dreary slopes there is never a tree to relieve the desolation, never a spring, or 
stream of water. The wonder in me grows why this land was ever called beautiful. 
It could well be called a land flowing with milk and honey, as it is fitted for nothing else 
but for the pasturage of goats, and the nests of wild bees. 

December ;>oth. — Mass at 6:00 a. m. at St. Etienne. Morning fair, temperature 
46° Fahrenheit. 

Soon after sunrise a disagreeable wind set in from the West. Clouds are gathering 
rapidly, threatening rain. The temperature at noon is only 52 Fahrenheit. These 
cold winds which precede and accompany rain always cause a fall of several degrees in 
the temperature. 

This being Tuesday at 3:30 p. m., we went with Rev. Pere Vincent for our weekly 
archaeological promenade. We occupied ourselves with the ruins of the ancient pre- 
cincts of the Church of the Sepulchre. The Church of the Sepulchre as it exists to-day 
comprises the traditional Calvary and the Sepulchre under one roof, but it occupies only 
the smaller part of the original enclosure built by Constantine. The ruins of the ancient 
constructions of Constantine are found round about in the wretched buildings which 
surround the present church. In a cafe one finds an ancient arch of a door; in a tin- 
smith's shop, one finds heads of columns with rich Byzantine capitals. In the Russian 
convent before mentioned we find the ruins of a part of the eastern course of this wall. 

A pile of stones thrown together at random would not be more irregular in its forma- 
tion than the buildings that are thrown together close upon the Church of the Sepulchre. 
Onlv on one side, on the western side, is a small space left open in front of the church. 
To enter this place from the eastern side one must stoop, and crawl through a hole in the 
wall. It is confusing to study the ancient lines of the Constantinian construction in the 
labyrinth of wretched buildings which now encumber the earth. Sometimes one must 
descend into dark and stinking passages man)^ feet under the present level of the city ; 
and again one must ascend on terraces in the endeavor to gain an idea of what was 
the original construction. The present Church of the Sepulchre is a patchwork without 
order or beauty. It is hard to tell just what pieces were taken from the ruins of the 
church built by Constantine ; but one can easily see that the church as it stands is in 
manv parts composed of pieces taken from older ruins and inartistically put together. 
If any man in a sermon or other discourse or writing shall say that the Church of the 
Sepulchre is exteriorly or interiorly beautiful, let a beam be pulled out of his house and 
let him be hanged thereon, and let his house be made a dunghill. 



A Rainy Day 



345 



One of the interesting objects visited to-day was the great cistern built by the 
Crusaders at the western border of the Constantinian precinct. One reaches it by a 
succession of stone and iron steps. Herr Schick who explored the cistern in 1889 thus 
describes it: 

"The cistern was found to be 102 feet long (east and west), and 34 feet 6 inches 
wide. The depth at the western end (measuring from the flooring of the new shop) 
is 34 feet, and at the eastern end 50 feet 6 inches; the bottom is all rock and very uneven." 

Schick himself and others fancied that this cistern was built in the moat of the second 
wall. Prepossessed by the idea that the Church of the Holy Sepulchre must have been 
outside of the line of the second wall, they imagine that they find proofs in everything. 

At 7.30 p. m. we had a brisk shower, the thermometer registers 48 Fahrenheit 
at 9 p. m. 

December 21st. — Mass at 6 a. m. at St. Etienne. A dense fog hangs over every- 
thing. The humid air is cold and disagreeable, temperature 45 Fahrenheit at eight a. m. 

It has been a disagreeable day. The temperature has remained low all day. From 
8 a. m. until noon it rose but three degrees; and it stands. at 6 p. m. at 45 Fahrenheit. 
During the forenoon rain and sunshine alternated in quick succession. The west wind 
drove the broken clouds rapidly over the sky, and every one, as it passed, showered the 
earth. Through the rifts the sun shone brightly. But in the afternoon the sun left 
us; and though the rain was intermittent, the clouds were unbroken. At times the rain 
came in torrents. 

We had a conference this afternoon at -the college by Pere Alio, on the origin of 
language. After the conference I felt regarding it much as Leigh Hunt felt after reading 
Browning's Sordello. It is painful to listen to the poor enunciation of these French 
speakers. 

In an effort to be up-to-date in scientific study the professors of St. Etienne have 
adopted the worst conclusions of the rationalists. In their theory on the origin of 
language the thought of the special intervention of God is never considered. In the 
same manner the monotheistic religion of the Jews is represented as a human improve- 
ment of the Babylonian religion ; the first chapters of Genesis are explained as a collection 
of Babylonian legends. In the lectures, one hardly ever hears the name of a Catholic 
writer mentioned, unless he is on the Index. The evangelists of this new school are 
Delitzsch, Wellhausen, Lenormant, Winckler, Max Miiller etc. 

It is a great pity. These men have devoted themselves to study ; they are situated 
here on the site so well adapted for Oriental study. They could render the Church good 
service. But they have fallen under the influence of the modern hydra of rationalism. 

December 22nd. — Mass at St. Etienne at 6 a. m. It rained all night. The morning 
is cloudy and windy: temperature 46 Fahrenheit at 8 a. m. 

The floodgates of heaven are again open, and a mighty rain is upon the earth. 
Had the Almighty not set the seal of his promise, his bow in the heavens, one might 
think that a second deluge was upon us. The rain comes in torrents. It is frequently 
mixed with small hail. At one time the terrace in front of my door was covered with 
soft hail. The temperature at 5 p. m. has sunk to 43 Fahrenheit. 

A rainy day at Jerusalem is far more dismal than a rainy day at home. One can 
do nothing but sit in the cheerless room, and ever and anon look out at the desolate 
vista with its awful memories. During these mighty rains the narrow streets of Jeru- 
salem are streams of foulest water. Even in the midst of the blinding rain the beggars 
"in looped and windowed raggedness" came and sat down on the stone pavement 



346 



The Franciscans 



in the colonnade of St. Etienne, waiting for their piece of bread. I have been told that 
some of these beggars abuse charity, and sell the bread which they beg at the different 
institutions. Though I could not verify this by investigation, I should not be surprised 
thereat. The degradation of man has reached a very low point in this land. 

December 23rd. — Mass at 6 a. m. at St. Etienne. The rain continued all night, 
and still continues. The temperature at 7 a. m. is 37 Fahrenheit. This is the lowest 
that I have observed at Jerusalem. Undoubtedly it was lower during the night. 

It has been a day of intermittent heavy rain. At midday the temperature had 
made a feeble rise to 43 Fahrenheit. It remains at that point at 6 p. m. 

A little before six we went down to the Kidron. There is about three or four inches 
of water in a slight narrow depression in its bed. During the actual shower of rain 
considerable water must have flown through it, as large ruts are dug in the road where 
the water rushed down to the Kidron's bed. 

The Franciscans have been here for centuries, and have contributed nothing to the 
science of archaeology or history. They have had exceptional advantages to study the 
monuments of the land, the inscriptions, the geography, the customs of the people, 
and the language. Thev have done nothing. They have contented themselves with 
absurd and impossible traditions, and have given no thought to scientific study. What 
they have failed to do others are now beginning to do. Dominicans, Augustinians, 
Benedictines, and others are established here, and they are studying and publishing. 
The result is that the Franciscans look with jealous eye upon this encroachment on 
what was once there sole domain. They assail with bitterest criticism whatever their 
rivals do. 

I do not wish to detract in the least from the good that the Franciscans have done 
in the Holy Land. They came here in the days of persecution. They suffered and 
died here in defense of the Holy Places. This glory they have merited; but mingled 
with this merit are human defects. The spirit of monasticism narrows. The good of 
the particular Order is unconsciously placed before the larger good of the Church. 
They shrink their sympathies within the bounds of their Order. They leave the world 
for the Order too often in the sense that they narrow their interests and their sym- 
pathies to their own Order. This spirit has produced the bitter theological disputes, 
and the bitter antipathies which history records of the great Orders. It precipitated 
the Reformation; it thrust upon the world the archpriest of Antichrist, Martin Luther. 

And yet withal the Orders have done many good works which could not have been 
done without them. By means of their corporate power they have been able to accom- 
plish things of enormous benefit to the Church. Here in this land these sanctuaries 
could never have been preserved by secular priests. The spreading of the Gospel in 
heathen lands is best done by the orders. They are good; and if they were freed from 
their characteristic defects they would be better. 

December 24th. — Mass at St. Etienne at 6 a. m. It continued to rain during the 
night. It is not actually raining this morning, but it is cold and cloudy; temperature 
at 7.30 a. m. 43 Fahrenheit. 

At half past seven a. m. we set .out on foot for Bethlehem. The day remained dark 
and threatening. It did not rain to any extent until we reached the city of David, 
but the heavy rains had made the road very muddy. We sunk to our ankles in the 
soft mud. Bethlehem is distant from Jerusalem about six English miles. Along the 
way there are many curious monuments. We first come to a cistern on the site where 



Bethlehem 



347 



the Magi again saw the star, which had disappeared as they entered Jerusalem. Here 
also the Blessed A^irgin and St. Joseph rested on their way to Jerusalem. 

About half way out a depression in the rock is shown as the place where Eli ah slept 
on his way to Horeb. Near is the Greek Convent of Mar Elias. 

A little farther on is the traditional tomb of Rachel. The present building is a 
mean little Muslim mosque. 

In Genesis xxxv. 16-21, the inspired writer tells us that Jacob set out from Bethel 
for Ephrath. That when there was yet some way to come to Ephrath Rachel died in 
giving birth to Benjamin. That Jacob "buried her in the way to Ephrath the same is 
Bethlehem. And Jacob set up a pillar on Rachel's grave unto this day." This text is 
corroborated by I. Sam. x. 2, where Samuel declares that the sepulchre of Rachel is in 
the border of Benjamin. This does not prove that the present construction is on the 
true site; but it proves that it may be on the true site; and more, that the true site 
must have been on the way between Jerusalem and Bethlehem. Prof. Socin's contention 
that Rachel's tomb must be north of Jerusalem is puerile. It is based on a misunder- 
standing of the Scriptures. Of course the professors of St. Etienne accept his view. 
Any obscurity with a German rationalistic label on it is accepted at St. Etienne. 

As we approached Rachel's tomb a very strange scene presented itself. A company 
of about twenty Arabs came down the road against us. Four of them bore on a coarse 
blanket the body of a dead man. The bearers held every one a corner of the blanket. 
The whole company chanted a weird monotonous dirge as they moved towards the 
grave. As they came to the tomb of Rachel they entered and laid the body on the 
stone pavement. Here they invoked the mercy of Allah upon the departed one with 
supplicating moans. The body was wrapped in a winding sheet, completely enveloping 
the whole body. The procession then moved to the grave. The bottom of the grave 
is lined with fiat stones. At each side large flat stones are set up on edge. In the rude 
stone coffin thus formed, the body is laid. Flat stones are laid across, extending from 
the stones on one side to the stones on the other side, and then the grave is filled with 
earth. 

We reached Bethlehem about 10.30 a. m. and went directly to the Franciscan 
Hospice, where we were very kindly received by Fra. Giovanni the guest-master. At 
Christmas a vast multitude of Christians of all races of men assemble at Bethlehem. 
This year a caravan of Mexicans arrived soon after we came in. A certain amount of 
confusion must result from such an assemblage. The Hospice of the Franciscans is 
not large enough to accommodate the vast multitude. For the priest who wishes to 
say Mass the confusion is still greater. In the crypt there are the altar of the manger, 
the altar of the Holy Innocents, the altar of St. Jerome's dwelling in the cave, St. Jerome's 
tomb in the cave, the altar of St. Joseph, and the altar of St. Eusebius. The great 
desideratum is to say mass at the altar of the manger. A man may be perfectly per- 
suaded that this cave is not the exact place of the birth of Christ, and yet as a priest he 
will wish to say Mass at the altar of the manger. 

About twenty-four Masses are possible from midnight until between three and 
four p. m. A list is made out and the priests who have obtained the permission to say 
Mass at the manger are assigned a time, and the list is posted up in the sacristy. But 
as priests say three masses on Christmas, there is strife regarding the other two Masses. 
One must really be selfish, or others will thrust him aside to the last. This anxiety and 
disagreeable contention disturb the proper disposition which the time and place should 



348 



Bethlehem 



produce. But it is inevitable; while human nature remains what it is, wherever there 
is a desired entity, there will be contention to possess it. 

The solemn chanting of the divine office begins in the Church of St. Catharine at 
ten. It is terminated a little before midnight. Then the midnight pontifical Mass 
begins. As soon as the Gloria of the Pontifical Mass is intoned, the priests are allowed 
to begin Mass at the several altars. 

At the altar of the manger, the mass does not begin until the pontifical Mass is ended, 




BETHLEHEM 



as after the pontifical Mass, the bishop carries an image of the Christ Child to the manger 
in solemn procession. 

December 25th. — Not being able to get to the altars of the cave without contention, 
I said the first and second Masses of Christmas at the Altar of the Blessed Sacrament 
in the Church of St. Catharine. The church was filled with devout Arab Christians. 
They squatted upon the pavement of the church close together, but the conduct of the 
adults was very edifying. I shall never forget the sight which was presented at the 
Communion. Bronzed, bare-breasted, bearded men came up to receive the Sacrament 
of the Lord's Body and Blood. Some wore close fitting white skull caps; others wore 
the turban. They manifested the greatest reverence and faith. They were poor men, 
shepherds, and tillers of the soil. They reminded me of the shepherds to whom the 
great message came in the fields near that village when Christ was born. The women 



The Tombs of the Prophets 



349 



for the most part received Communion later; many waiting until noon. I said my 
third mass at 12.20 p. m. at the altar of the manger. The struggle of the soul to realize 
the great event which took place at Bethlehem was painful and unsuccessful ; it is too 
great for human comprehension. 

The second solemn pontifical Mass took place in the Church of St." Catharine at 
nine o'clock a. m. From midnight until noon the church and all the chambers of the 
cave were crowded with the Christians of Bethlehem and pilgrims. The Greeks had a 
function also, but it was insignificant compared to the magnificent ceremonies of the 
Latin rite. 

The weather became settled at Christmas eve. and Christmas da)" was a beautiful 
sunny day. 

After dinner we visited the Milk Grotto. Two uncertainties present themselves at 
Bethlehem. We know not, and no search will make us know the exact season of the 
year when Christ was born at Bethlehem. Secondly, we cannot be sure that this cave 
is the place of Christ's birth. But we know that this is the village of Bethlehem, and 
that in this Bethlehem Christ was born, and it is this general certainty that is the basis 
of the true devotion which one has for Bethlehem. 

We returned on foot to Jerusalem, making the journey in one hour and fifty minutes. 
The mud was dried up sufficiently to afford good walking. The temperature at eight 
p. m. is 48 Fahrenheit. 

December 26th. — Feast of St. Stephen, the patron of the Basilica. Mass at 6 
a. m. at St. Etienne. At 8 a. m., the Bishop of Capharnaum, auxiliary to the Patriarch, 
celebrated pontifical Mass. The Prior, Pere Sejourne read a bull of Pius X. by which 
the Church of St. Etienne is made a minor Basilica with all the rights and privileges of 
the same. 

The whole day was devoted to grand religious solemnity. It brought back the 
memory of those days when religion flourished in the East. The weather is beautiful; 
temperature at midday, 52 Fahrenheit; at 7 p. m. 46 Fahrenheit. 

December 27th. — Mass at St. Etienne at 6 a. m. The temperature sunk slightly 
below the freezing point, but at 7 a. m. it is 43 Fahrenheit. The day opens with a clear 
sky and bright sunshine. 

The day has remained fair. At three p. m. we visited the so-called Tombs of the 
Prophets on the Mount of Olives. The Muslims honor the tombs as the tombs of the 
later prophets. The tradition is absurd. These graves have nothing of the archi- 
tectural beauty of the Tombs of the Judges. The corridors are dug irregularly and 
disorderly in the soft earth. There are no spacious rock chambers as are those in the 
Tombs of the Judges. The passages here are narrow, crooked, and often so low that 
the passage through them is difficult. There are one or two bank graves, and one sunk 
grave; the others are large oven-shaped graves. In some places the necropolis is in an 
unfinished state. There is a Muslim tradition that here Christ was buried. There is a 
small circular chamber into which one first enters. It has a circular opening in the 
centre. In this there are traces of stuccos and ornamentation. It may have been 
that this was a burial place of Judaeo-Christians of the early centuries. The necropolis 
is in design a large semicircle, though the lines of the semicircular passages are not fully 
regular. There are many passages which intersect each other within the area bounded 
by the largest semicircular passage. It is only in the outer side of the largest passage, 
and in the small chambers leading off from it that the- peculiar oven-shaped graves- 
exist. It would seem that the necropolis ceased to be used, as this series was completed. 



350 



The Tombs of the Prophets 



Many crosses and Greek names have been scratched on the walls. Some of these 
are legible; others are a bewildering mass of graffiti. The name of the tombs in Arabic 
is Kabur el-'Anbia. They are the property of the Russian Church. 

The Kabur el-'Anbia is not an ancient Jewish sepulchre, appropriated and de- 
veloped by Christians, but a tomb excavated in the fourth or fifth century of our era 
by some foreign association at Jerusalem, for those of its members who died in the Holy 
City. An abandoned cistern was probably selected as the place for commencing the 
excavation, and a semi-circular form was given to it so as to obtain a larger number of 




TRADITIONAL SITE OF THE OUR FATHER ON OLIVET 



graves. The same idea led to the adoption of the kokim, characteristic of Jewish tombs 
in preference to the usual Christian arcosolia. 

At noon the thermometer registered 52 Fahrenheit; at 7 p. m., it stands at 46 
Fahrenheit. 

December 28th. — We arose at 5.15 a. m. and at 5.30 we went forth in the .still moon- 
light towards the Mount of Olives. The early mom revealed the full glory of the 
Oriental night. The full moon and the stars sent a flood of silvery light through the 
clear atmosphere. 

The way we traveled was deserted and silent. We went down across the dry bed 
of the Kidron, passed the silent Garden of Gethsemane, and ascended the abrupt side 
of the Mount of Olives. Our way was to the traditional site of the Ascension. We 



Chvrch of the Our Father 



351 



reaciei the Church :c The Carmeiiie Nuns ai six o'clock a. in. Thi; church is built on 
the traditional site of the place where our Lord is supposed to have taught the disciples 
for the second time the Our Father. There on the wall of a rectangular portico they 
have the Our Father printed on tables built into the wall in 33 of the principal languages 
of! the world. 

I must remark here that since my visit to the place the Rt. Rev. Mgr. O'Callaghan 




E THE OUR FATHER OX OLIVET 



of Boston has caused the Our Father to be placed there in Gaelic ; so that now the number 
is 34- 

The belief in this tradition is harmless. It goes back to the eleventh century. 

In 1868 the Princess de la Tour dAuvergne bought the site, and in 1872 she gave it 
to the Carmelite Nuns, who have built a convent and small church adjoining on the east. 

About the middle of the southern portico of the place of the Lord's Prayer is the 
beautiful marble tomb of the princess, with her statue in the form of a sleeping woman. 
She died in 189 1 ; but her remains have not yet been brought to the tomb. 



352 



The Mount of Olives 



The traditional site of the Ascension is in the possession of the Muslims. It is on 
the summit of the Mount of Olives a few rods distant from the Carmelite cloister. The 
chapel is a small octagonal structure about twenty-one feet in diameter. The roof is 
dome shaped. The chapel is not of ancient date, but the small columns of white marble 
which are placed at every outer angle of the octagon, are ruins of an ancient ecclesi- 
astical building. Even as early as the days of Constantine the tradition assigned the 




MOSQUE OF THE ASCENSION 



place of the Ascension on the Mount of Olives. Constantine built here a Basilica to 
honor the event. In the sixth century many cloisters were built on the Mount of Olives. 
All these have shared the fate of the other Christian edifices. They have been utterly 
ruined and destroyed. The dreary sight of fragments of marbles tells the history of 
the vicissitudes which have devastated this land. There is no other land on which the 
sun shines which has been subjected to the ruin and the bloodshed which have here been 
accomplished. 



The Traditional Site of the Ascension 



353 



The good Carmelite nuns provide everything necessary for the celebration of Mass 
at the traditional spot. By paying a backshish of one franc each to the Muslims, one 
obtains from the pagans the privilege of saying the Mass in the chapel. The Carmelite 
nuns provide the portable altar and what else is necessary. Towards one side of the 
chapel a portion of the rock of the mountain is bare. It is bordered by slabs of marble. 




THE MOSQUE OF THE ASCENSION OF CHRIST 



Here in the rock is a slight depression which is assigned by tradition as the footprint 
of Jesus as he ascended to Heaven. 

Constantine built the Basilika of the Ascension on Olivet. 

The Byzantine church on Mount Olivet was, in the eleventh century, destroyed. 
The Crusaders found there, instead of a church, a "wall," within which the site of the 
Ascension was marked with a small, towerdike building. So they built a new church 
of a somewhat different shape from the other, an eight-sided edifice, with much thicker, 
walls, and with an axis declining five degrees in a direction to the Templum Domini, 
or the present Dome of the Rock. 



354 



Cave op Pelagia 



When the Crusaders built their church, they apparently built the convent at the 
same time, especially those parts immediately outside the reduced church, perhaps also 
the outer parts, and formed a kind of castle with towers at the corners and in the middle 
of the sides, over the gates. 

In the beginning of the fourteenth century there were on the Mount of Olives many 
prayer places, chapels, convents, and hermitages, beyond the convent, which was close 




THE TOWER ANTONIA— JERUSALEM 

to the large round church, which had then in the centre a small chapel over the foot- 
prints. In the ruins of the convent the Muhammadans erected on the south a convent 
and a mosque of their creed, and at the former entrance to the church a minaret, which, 
as well as their convent, is still in existence. 

This is called by the natives the "Cave of Pelagia," the "Hermitage of Adawi, or 
Bint Hasan"; and the Jews call it the " Tomb of Huldah." It is situated south-west 
of the Ascension Church, on lower ground. It is a chapel-like room with another one 
smaller, and situated still lower, formed of immensely thick walls and vaulted. Pelagia 



Arch of the "Ecce Homo' 



355 



was a sinful woman of Antioch, who became converted, went to Jerusalem, and as a 
penitent lived several years in a small cell, continually praying and fasting, in the disguise 
of a monk. 

The Chapel of the Ascension is in the centre of a large irregular court, which is en- 
closed by a high wall. Round about this court outside the chapel are stone altars for 
the schismatic Greeks, Syrians, Copts, and Armenians. 

In the chapel right over the fore-mentioned portion of the naked rock we said Mass. 

The Carmelite nuns are cloistered, so that we saw none of them; but a pious lady 
who acts as portress was very kind to us. We shall go again to visit other monuments 
and to say Mass in the Church of the Our Father, and in the grotto where tradi- 




PROPOSED RESTORATION OF THE ARCH OF "ECCE HOMO" 



tion says that Our Lord repaired to teach his disciples the meaning of his parables 
which he explained not to an unbelieving people. 

The temperature at ten a. m.is49° Fahrenheit. At 3. 15 p. m. we visited the Church 
and Convent of the Sisters of Sion at the Arch of the Ecce Homo. This arch extends across 
the street called the Via Dolorosa at the western angle of the traditional site of the 
tower Antonia. The northern spring of the main arch,_ and the entire northern 
lateral arch are built into the apse of the Sion Sisters' Church. From the ruins which 
remain one can form the certain conclusion that they originally formed a triumphal 
arch with a large central arch and two smaller lateral arches after the manner of the 
arch called of Septimius Severus at Rome, but not so large. The architecture is cer- 
tainly Roman, pure and beautiful. We descended into the vaulted passages under- 
neath the pavement of the present church; and there we examined the ancient Roman 
way paved wdth great ribbed flat stones. This w r ay ran east and west underneath the 
present street Tarik Bab Sitti Maryam, which passes between the emplacement of An- 
tonia and the Sion Sisters' Church. Also here under, on a level with the ancient 
Roman way, we examined the pavement of an ancient Roman edifice. On some of 



356 



The Shepherds' Field 



the great stones which form its pavement are cut curious geometrical devices destined 
for Roman games. From all these indications it is evident that here stood a Roman 
public building of considerable importance. 

A portion of the northern wall of the church is formed of a massive perpendicularly 
hewn portion of the natural rock. This must have formed a portion of the wall of the 
ancient Roman edifice. Thus far all are agreed as to the nature of these ruins; but 
here comes the difficulty. The Sion Sisters venerate the place as the site of Pilate's 
house, and believe that from the summit of this arch Pilate showed Jesus to the people. 
I should be happy to be able to add my voice in favor of this tradition ; but I must con- 
fess that positive data are absolutely wanting to substantiate it. It is one of those un- 
happy questions of archaeology, which cannot be definitely settled, and which divide and 
embitter Christian minds. 

The Sion Sisters have here a large orphan asylum for girls. We assisted at Bene- 
diction in the beautiful church. It was a relief to see the long file of clean, well-dressed, 
intelligent, and well-bred girls come in and take their places in the church. They sang 
Christmas hymns and the hymn for Benediction beautifully. The saving of these or- 
phans is the only way to spread Christianity in the East. 

At nine p. m. the temperature is 43 Fahrenheit. 

December 29th. — Mass at St. Etienne at six a. m. We set out from Jerusalem on foot 
at 7.30 a. m. We journeyed towards Bethlehem arriving at the Grotto of the Nativity 
at to a. m. After a visit to the Grotto of the Nativity we continued our journey south- 
wards to Bet Sahur en-Nasara, the traditional site of the shepherds' field. There are 
here extensive ruins of the convent here founded by St. Paula. There is here also a 
deep grotto called the Cave of the Shepherds. The unreasonableness of this tradition 
appears at once. The shepherds keeping the night watches over their flocks were in 
the open field, keeping vigilant watch against the wolves, when the heavenly messenger 
appeared. It would be absurd to suppose that they keep their nightwatches while in 
a deep cave of the earth Again, these caves in their natural condition are by no means 
a pleasant place in which to remain. They are damp and cold. Even to-day in the 
wretched conditions in which the dwellers of this land find themselves few of them dwell 
in caves. The most wretched habitation above ground is preferable to these damp 
horrid caves. But here the tendency has always prevailed to localize everything in 
a cave. Hence the very fact that an event is placed in a cave creates a distrust of its 
authenticity. 

It is absolutely impossible to determine the place near Bethlehem where the angel 
appeared to the shepherds. Of only one fact can we be sure, that it was in the vicinity 
of the village. The traditional site seems to have been chosen from the fact that it is 
situated in the most level and best cultivated part of the environs. All about Bethle- 
hem the land is mountainous and rocky except this fine plain south of the village where 
tradition has placed the Shepherds' Field. But this very fact militates against its au- 
thenticity. The level arable land here in the East is not used for pasturage. There 
is too little of it; and what exists is used to cultivate the cereals. It is the rocky slopes 
of the mountains that serve as pasture fields for the sheep and goats. Hence I believe 
that it was on one of these rocky hillsides that the first Glory in Excelsis was sung. 

All round about these hills one sees little round huts built of stone. They are the 
watch-towers for the watchmen in the time of the vintage. It is difficult to find an 
Oriental who observes the commandment: "Thou shalt not steal." Hence a vigilant 
watch must be maintained at the time of the vintage. 



The Jews' Wailing Place 



357 



It has been a summer's day. The thermometer at noon was about 5 5 Fahrenheit, 
at 7 p. m. it is 4S Fahrenheit. 

December 30th. — There is at the Church of the' Holy Sepulchre a little chapel built 
up against the flank of the traditional Calvary. Its pavement is on the same level 
with Calvary, and a flight of stone steps leads up from the open court outside to its 
entrance. It is divided by a wall from the great chapel of Calvary, but a grated window 
permits one to look from it into the main chapel. This chapel is called the Chapel of 




SHEPHERDS' FIELD N EAR BETHLEHEM 

the Sorrows of Mary. It belongs exclusively to the Franciscans, and they have shed 
their blood to defend its possession against the Greeks. 

Here I said Mass at 6 a. m. It is a quiet devotional little chapel; and one is not 
disturbed by the presence of the ignorant, dirty, hypocritical Greek priests. These 
simoniacal hypocrites are not allowed to enter here. 

The temperature is 45 Fahrenheit; at 7.30 a. m.. clear sunshine. At noon the 
thermometer rose to 56 Fahrenheit; at 6 p. m. it registers 48 Fahrenheit. 

At 3.30 p. m. we went down to the Jews' wailing place. It is the west wall of the 
present temple area, in the Jewish quarter of the city. 

The great lintel covering the closed entrance to the Haram, commonly launvn as 
"Barclay's Gate." is visible in a small courtyard immediately south of the Wailing Place, 
and m one of the chambers which support the ramp leading to the Bab al Magharibe 



358 



Jews' Wailing Place 



The entire lintel cannot be seen, but it is 6 feet 10 inches high, and its measured length 
is 20 feet 1 inch. The total length must be about 24 feet 8 inches. The entrance is 
closed with coarse rubble, and above the lintel the Haram wall is built with small 
stones plain dressed. Adjoining the lintel on the north there are four courses of small 
stones with marginal drafts, and at the Wailing Place two additional courses can be seen. 
Above the latter there are four courses of stone with plain dressed faces, and then the 
wall is finished off with small stones plain dressed. There are several holes in the wall. 




FIELD OF BOAZ 



which seem to indicate the existence, at some period, of a row of vaulted chambers 
similar to those south of the Pool Al Burak. 

The Wailing Place has always been considered part of the original retaining wall 
of the Temple enclosure, but the carelessness of the building and the frequent occurrence 
of coarse open joints make it almost certain that the stones are not reallv in situ, and 
that this section of the wall is a reconstruction with old material. Many of the blocks 
are much worn by the weather, owing to their softness, or to their not having been set 
on their quarry beds. The material, too, is of very unequal qualitv; some is from the 
best missce beds, as that used in the second course from the bottom, which is admirably 
finished and well preserved, but above and below this course there are many stones 
from the soft malaki beds and from the upper missce, which contain a number of small 
nodules, and disintegrates rapidly. 



The Jews 



359 



The wall beneath the present surface of the ground was examined by a shaft which 
was sunk seven feet north of the jamb of Barclay's Gate. The bottom of the lintel 
proved to be 78 feet 6 inches above the rock, and this height is made up of twenty- 
two courses of stone, from 3 feet 3 inches to 3 feet 11 inches high. The bottom course 
is let into the rock, and each course is set back about half an inch as the wall rises. 
The stones are similar to, but in a much better state of preservation than, those of the 
Wailing Place, and with one exception the upper drafts are slightly broader than the 
lower. The sill of the gate is about 28 feet 9 inches below the bottom- of the lintel. 
The exact height could not be ascertained, as the sill course was broken. 

The Jewish Wall of Wailing is 156 feet long and its present height is 60 feet above 
the present level of the earth. Only the nine lower courses are ancient. 

The Jews come hither from different countries : the Polish Jew is more ragged and 
dirty than the Spanish Jew. 

They embrace the stones, kiss them and weep over them. The expression of their 
countenances is most repulsive. They chant a sort of litany as follows. 

On account of the palace which lies desolate 
On account of the palace which is ruined 
On account of the walls which are ruined 
On account of our kingly estate which is gone 
On account of our heroes who are fallen 
On account of the precious stones which are burned 
On account of the priests who have stumbled 
On account of our kings who despised him 

A chanter intones each invocation and the people respond. 

Another litany is thus : The chanter intones : ' 'We pray thee have mercy on Sion. ' ' 
The people answer: ''Gather the children of Jerusalem.'' Chanter: "Hasten, hasten, 
Sion's Redeemer." People: "Speak to the heart of Jerusalem." Chanter: "Let beauty 
and majesty encompass Sion." People: "Oh turn in mercy to Jerusalem." Chanter 
"May the kingdom quickly again appear in Sion.'" People: "Console those who 
weep over Jerusalem." Chanter: "May peace and joyfulness return to Sion." 
People: "May the branch (of Jesse) shoot forth in Jerusalem." 

It is one of the saddest, weirdest sights which the eye of man sees at Jerusalem. 
In the expansion of the street which passes by the wall they come one after the other, 
bringing worn and coverless books containing portions of the Hebrew Scriptures and 
the litany before mentioned. Some have quite rich tunics, but the most are ragged and 
dirty. Gaunt, wrinkled, ragged, dirty old woman assemble here at one angle, and 
moan and cry over these walls. The men and boys form a dense throng along the side 
of the wall. They rock the body to and fro as the}- read in a tone of lamentation the 
lament over the destruction of their city. 

At Jerusalem one can not fail to distinguish the Jew from all other races of men. 
His dress is distinctive ; but most of all what distinguishes them is their peculiar coun- 
tenances, mysterious, hopelessly sad. There is here no miscegenation of the Jew with, 
any other race. They are a people apart, a mystery of the human race. 

December 31st. — We went this morning to the convent of the Sion Sisters on the 
Via Dolorosa. I said Mass at 6.45 a. m. at the beautiful main altar in front of the great 
Roman Arch of which I have before spoken. The nuns and orphan girls sang hymns 
during the Mass. All here inspires devotion. This may not be the arch of the "Ecce 





360 



SOUTERRAIN AT SlON CONVENT 



Homo"; in fact, I firmly believe that Pilate did not show Jesus to the people from the 
top of the arch; but it is highly probable that the event took place at some point in the 
immediate vicinity. One may well believe that the Roman Arch, the great Roman way 
and the ruins of some great Roman public building betoken the emplacement here 
of the Roman Praitorium. 

During the excavations made for the foundation of the Convent of the -Sisters of 
Sion two immense souterrains were discovered running out to the Haram Wall. 

They consist of two parallel tunnels or vaulted passages, separated from each other 
by a wall 5 feet 9 inches thick, and abutting at either end on a rock escarpment ; they 




JEWS' PLACE OF WAILING 



are reached from a narrow side street north of the Via Dolorosa by passing through the 
kitchen of the convent and then descending a flight of stairs. Souterrain No. I. is 165 
feet 2 inches long and 20 feet 1 inch wide; at the north end the rock escarpment is 39 
feet high, and its summit level is 2,458 feet, whilst at the south end it is 57 feet high, 
and attains a level of 2,456 feet; the floor has thus a fall of about 20 feet from north to 
south. 

Souterrain II. is 127 feet long and 24 feet to 26 feet wide. At its south end it is 
terminated by a continuation of the rock escarpment seen in Souterrain I. The north 
end is blocked up with masonry of late date, but as a prolongation of the northern rock 
escarpment in I. is said to have been found, the souterrain may have extended up to it 
at one time. 



Gethsemane 



361 



There is -then to the north of the north-west angle a rock-hew n ditch 165 feet wide 
and from 26 feet to 33 feet deep, the floor of which over the area covered by the sou- 
terrains. 165 feet by 46 feet to 50 feet, has been sunk to a further depth of from 13 feet 
to 24 feet. This ditch is not parallel to the northern boundary of the Haram, but lias 
been cut perpendicular to a line representing the general direction of the ridge, the 




JEWISH RABBI 



reason apparently being that the quantity of rock to be excavated was less on this line 
than on any other. 

After Mass I went down to the Garden of Gethsemane, and with the aid of kind 
Fra. Giulio, the custodian, I planted there some sweet peas, the seed of which was 
sent me from America. The whole Garden is arranged in little flower beds bordered 
with stones. But the most imposing element of the Garden is the great scraggy, 
gnarled olive trees. 



362 



St. Etienne 



Though the sun rose clear this morning, the clouds have since been slowly gather- 
ing. A cold wind has set in from the northwest and rain is threatened. At 11:00 
a. m. the temperature is only 48 Fahrenheit. 

It began to rain a little before noon, and considerable rain has fallen until this 
hour, 5 : 1 5 p. m. This afternoon we visited with Rev. Pere Vincent the ancient Necro- 
polis which was discovered here when the Domenican Fathers were clearing away the 




TALMUDISTS 



debris which encumbered their garden. The entrance to the Necropolis is towards the 
western border of this garden. Not all of the ancient tombs have been opened. The 
Dominicans have cleared out an extensive series of these tombs, and they have con- 
structed a fine underground chapel in what was the ancient atrium of the Necropolis. 
This atrium was originally cut quadrangularly into the living rock, and open to the sky. 
Leading off from this are the burial chambers. 

As we stood and looked at these heaped up crumbling human bones, Pere Vincent 
narrated an interesting incident in which he figured during his first visit to Petra. 



The Carmelite Nuns 



363 



They discovered a tomb which had not been violated. It was a Nabatean tomb of 
the time of Trajan. A succession of three stone slabs securely fastened closed the 
entrance. By great labor they removed these, and at the entrance to the tomb they 
found a Nabatean inscription forbidding any one to violate the tomb, and invoking 
the vengeance of the gods, of the Nabateans against anyone who should violate the 
tomb. Notwithstanding this terrible injunction, they opened the tomb, and the French 
phvsician who accompanied the expedition took away the skull of the dead man, and 
that skull is now the possession of the aforesaid physician in France. How death 
mocks the hopes and pretensions of mankind! 

The temperature at 5:15 p. m. remains stationary at 48 Fahrenheit. 

At 6:30 p. m. we were invited to take part in a most edifying ceremony in the Salon 
of the convent. An image of the Child Jesus lying in a little crib, was placed on a 
stand; lighted candles were placed about the image of the Child Jesus, and a faldstool 
placed before the stand. On a table near by were three urns. One urn contained the 
names of all the Fathers and Brothers of the community, and also of all the students of 
the Ecole Biblique. Another urn contained the names of saints to correspond with 
the number of the names in the first urn. The third urn contained a sentence taken 
from the writings of the Saints for every name in the first urn. A lector stood at every 
urn. The first lector drew a name out of the urn, and announced the name. The 
person thus called went forward and knelt before the pretty image of the Child Jesus. 
The second lector drew out of the urn the name of a saint ; that saint thus drawn by 
lot becomes for the year the patron of the person for whom the lot is drawn. As the 
person kneels there, the third lector draws a slip of paper out of the third urn, and 
reads the sentence thereon writ. That sentence becomes a motto for the kneeling 
person for a year. All is thus determined by lots. It is a most edifying and beauti- 
ful observance. There is an element of simplicity, childlike simplicity in it, but it 
is the simplicity counseled by Christ. All are happy and merry during the ceremony ; 
and it is here verified that the yoke of the Lord is sweet, and the burden light. The 
most learned Father of the Order and the humblest Brother here meet on the same 
plane; there is no distinction. They give an absolute proof that they consider the 
difference of their respective stations but a mere accident, which enters in nowise in 
differentiating them in the Kingdom of Heaven. 

I drew as patron St. Stephen the first Martyr, and my sentence was: 
"Consider that you are but a reed which bends at every wind; without consistence, 
without energy, without stability, having nothing of your own, not even your existence. 
— Louis de Grenada. By such reflections the Dominicans destroy inordinate self love. 

January 1, 1905. — We arose at 5:30 a. m. The rain has ceased. We went down 
across the Kidron and up the steep side of the Mount of Olives to the Carmelite Church 
built on the traditional site of the Our Father recorded by St. Luke. 

We arrived in the church a little after 6:00 a. m. The high altar was immediately 
put in order for our Masses; and there we said Mass. The Nuns enter not into the 
church. Iron gratings form their means of communication with the altar. They were 
at their prayers during our Masses. The sad plaintive monotone of their recited 
prayers filled us with painful emotions. Their bodies are weakened by their lives of 
abstinence, and their voices share in this weakness. They have renounced every- 
thing: they "hate their lives, in order that they may find them." 

After our Masses, a priest of the White Fathers of Lavigerie, entered and began 
the high Mass. From behind the largest iron grating the nuns sang the Mass. Their 



364 



The "Credo" Grotto 



chant was a slow measured monotone dying away at the end of the sentences into a 
minor chord. It was painful to listen to it. The voices were weak and flat. The 
sounds were weird and unearthly. There was a sadness in it, but it was not that 
hopeless sadness which is the sorrow of this world. It was the sadness of longing love, 
the sadness of the bride waiting for the Bridegroom. 

Awful earnestness, awful intensity of love were poured forth in that chant. No 
worldliness finds a place here. These virgins have left all; they have even renounced 
the instinctive love of this life; they are as removed from the world as though they 
were now in their tombs. They are poor, not only individually as are all nuns; but as 
a community. Their food is the least that can suffice to keep the body and soul to- 
gether. They have but one thought, the Lord Jesus Christ. They have but one 
desire, to be liberated from their tenement of clay, and be with Christ. 

Yesterday an American Pilgrimage arrived at Jerusalem. In the number are 
Bishop Colton of Buffalo and Bishop McDonald of Brooklyn. About forty priests 
and twenty lay persons are in the pilgrimage. They entered the Church of the Holy 
Sepulchre in solemn procession at 10:30 a. m. to-day. We had a charming visit with 
them before the procession. 

The day is beautiful ; the thermometer at 1 1 :oo a. m. stands at 50 Fahrenheit. 

January 2nd. — Mass at 5:30 a. m. in the Confessional of St. Etienne. At 6:30 
a. m. Bishop Colton of Buffalo came from Casa Nova and said Mass in the same con- 
fessional. 

After breakfast Pere Sejourne and Pere Lagrange conducted us through the con- 
vent and church. 

The day is beautiful; at 10:00 a. m. the thermometer registers 52 Fahrenheit. It 
is clear bright sunshine. At 6:00 p. m., the temperature was 50 Fahrenheit. 

January 3rd. — Mass at St. Etienne at 6:00 a. m. The morning is beautiful, 
temperature at 7:30 a. m. 48 Fahrenheit. 

At noon the temperature rose to 59 Fahrenheit; at 6:00 p. m. it is 49 Fahrenheit. 

We visited the Franciscan library this afternoon, and found there a most valuable 
collection of books. 

January 4th. — Mass at St. Etienne at 6:00 a. m. The morning is beautiful, clear 
sunshine, temperature 46 Fahrenheit, at 7:30 a. m. At noon the temperature rose to 
59 ; at 6:00 p. m. it is 50 Fahrenheit. 

January 5th. — We arose at 5:15, and at 5:30 a. m. we went forth down by the 
silent walls of Jerusalem, down past the lonely knoll now called Gordon's Calvary. 
The valley of the Kidron was as silent as the grave. We ascended the Mount of Olives 
by the steep central path, and arrived at the Carmelite Convent at a little after six. 
We there procured the vestments and other articles necessary for the celebration of 
Mass, and descended to the "Credo" Grotto. This is under the pavement of the 
cortile of the church just at the gate. The Grotto is a long single chamber. One 
descends by a flight of stone steps. From the base of the steps where they reach the 
rock, which forms the floor of the grotto, to the end of the apse the distance is about 
sixty feet. The grotto is about twelve feet wide. It is vaulted overhead, and the 
central point of the vault is perhaps fourteen feet from the rock of the floor. A small 
plain altar is erected in the apse, The overhead is not of natural formation, but built 
of masonry, so that its upper surface forms the level pavement of the cortile. Three 
small windaws raised a little above the level of the pavement admit the light. 



The Epiphaxy 



365 



Here we said Mass. The chapel is much disfigured by the names written on the 
whitewashed walls. 

It is difficult to trace the tradition of this chapel. According to Eusebius, St. 
Helena built a chapel over the Grotto wherein Our Lord taught his disciples the mys- 
teries of the Kingdom of Heaven. In the middle age the tradition arose that here the 
Apostles composed the Creed; hence its name the Grotto of the Credo. Its real right to 
be venerated is based on the fact that it is on the Mount of Olives, and the memories 
of Jesus hover over the whole Mount. 

After Mass we assisted at the Benediction of the Blessed Sacrament in the Carme- 
lite church. Forth from behind the iron lattice of her cloister proceeded that same 
unearthly weird voice which we heard last Sunday. That tone of awful earnestness, 
and total unworldliness penetrates the soul of the listener like a message from beyond 
the grave. 

The dawning of the day over the top of the Mount of Olives is wonderful. We 
stood there in that ghostly twilight, and looked down on the city of Jerusalem; and 
for the moment the flood of memories that rushed in on the soul obliterated all other 
thoughts and realizations. 

The Mount of Olives is the great true Sanctuary of this land. There generally 
silence reigns ; and we may see the whole city as Jesus did ; and we find an easy entrance 
into that great world of mysterious truth that crystallizes about Jesus Christ. 

The weather is beautiful. At midday Fahrenheit's thermometer registered 57 
degrees. At noon however,, an ominous haze covers the sky, and the future state of 
the weather is uncertain. 

In the afternoon we walked down by the Jaffa Gate, and farther on we turned 
from the high way and went down by the rocky southern slope of the Wady er-Rababi. 
The view of the old traditional Sion, and of Ophel and the Temple is grand from the 
elevated ground -which forms the southern wall of this valley. 

We passed up through the accepted site of Topheth ; thence by the pool of Siloah 
up past the great tombs in the Kidron valley, back to St. Etienne. It surpasses the 
powers of man to determine exactly the topography of Jerusalem and its environs ; but 
setting aside the contentions about particular sites, one can readily realize the greater 
lines of these historical sites ; and one can realize that he is treading upon ground which 
has a history with which no other land can claim an equality. Here the First Cov- 
enant reached the zenith of its glory; here it declined and died in agony; and here the 
New Covenant was delivered to the world as an eternal testament sealed by the blood 
of its Divine Author. 

The temperature at 9:30 p. m. is 52° Fahrenheit with a cloudy sky. 

January 6th. — Mass at 6:00 a. m. at St. Etienne. It began to rain in the night, 
and the rain continues increasing. The temperature at 8:00 a. m. is 48 Fahrenheit. 

To-day being the feast of the Epiphany, Christian veneration centres in Bethle- 
hem. In fact, as in the Magi there was typified the conversion of the Gentiles; the 
Church, mainly composed of the Gentiles, always paid an honor to the Epiphany not 
inferior to that of Christmas. In the first Basilika built at Bethlehem, the Child 
Christ, as adored by the Magi, was the object of adoration. 

At 11:00 o'clock a. m. a dense fog settled down upon Jerusalem and its environs. 
It is impossible to see ten rods in any direction. Rain followed the fog. At 6:00 p. m. 
the temperature is 47 Fahrenheit. 



366 



The Tomb of Lazarus 



January 7th. — Mass at St. Etienne at 6:00 a. m. The rain has ceased; the sun is 
shining brightly; the temperature at 7:30 a. m. is 44 Fahrenheit. 

The day remains cool and cloudy ; the thermometer has not risen above 48 Fahren- 
heit. 

At 3:00 p. m. we went out to Bethany. It is a pleasant walk out over the south- 
ern slope of the Mount of Olives. It is difficult to determine where the way to Bethany 
lay in the time of our Lord. One can judge nothing from the present paths. The 
whole face of the mountain has been changed since that time ; walls have been built ; 
and paths created to lead to the various institutions which were founded on the 
mount. We may with absolute certainty dismiss the thought that the present high- 
way was the road traveled by Christ in his goings between Jerusalem and Bethany. 
That road avoids the mountain, and bends in great curves to afford a passable road 
for carriages. Of the three paths which pass up over the Mount of Olives the middle 
path can not be the way over which our Lord came, when he wept over Jerusalem. We 
know that he was mounted on an ass colt on that day. The aforesaid path rises up 
over the steepest part of the mountain side; and it would be well nigh impossible for 
a man to either ascend or descend there mounted on any beast. The Russians and the 
Franciscans have chosen unwisely in building close by this way their chapels to com- 
memorate the weeping of Jesus. While no man can determine the spot, a point farther 
southward would be at least a possible site. 

I am persuaded that the way so often trodden by Jesus passed over the Mount of 
Olives by a gentler ascent crossing somewhat southward from the summit of the 
Mount. Such a path exists there to-day; and it is probable that it follows the general 
route of that original way. This path agrees also well with the direction of Bethany, 
since Bethany itself lies in the valley at the base of the southeastern slope of Olivet. 
Here again we see the improbability of the traditional site of the Ascension on the 
top of Olivet. That site is not precisely on the way towards Bethany, but lies 
somewhat to the north. But the main argument will always be that the place of the 
Ascension was determined by the Evangelist from its relation to Bethany, and the 
top of the Mount of Olives has no close relation to Bethany. A man could not write 
more obscurely than to determine an event on the top of Olivet, by saying that it was 
out towards Bethany. 

When one departs from the baseless tradition, and takes the Gospel as his guide 
the account of the Holy Scripture agrees well with nature here. 

This southerly path before mentioned passes out over the gently sloping base of 
the Mount of Olives, a few hundred yards distant from the little village of Bethany 
lying in the valley. This spot is in marvelous conformity with the Gospel account. 
It is over against Bethany; every house in Bethany of that day, and of the present 
wretched village is from this point visible ; and yet it was sufficiently removed from the 
village so that Jesus was alone with his disciples as the Scriptural account demands. 

We went down and entered the traditional Tomb of Lazarus. A low door close 
to the path admits to the cave. A rude flight of twenty-four stone steps leads down 
into a walled and vaulted chamber. It is rudely and poorly constructed. It is about 
twelve feet by eight, and perhaps twelve feet high. In one corner is a bank built of 
small stones, not over four feet long by about two feet wide. The Arabs call this the 
place where the body of Lazarus was laid. From here one descends by three large 
rude stone steps, and then crawls through a low passage into another chamber about 
nine feet square, vaulted overhead. All the masonry is of the meanest sort. Here 



Legend of Holy Cross 



367 



according to another tradition was the tomb proper of Lazarus. There is no tomb 
of any kind now in the chamber. Another tradition assigns this as the penitential 
cell of Mary Magdalene. This last tradition is the most absurd of all. It is evident 
that what we see here is of a very modern date. The grave of Lazarus is unknown. 
The hillsides here are full of caves; and in someone of these his body was laid, but the 
tradition which locates it here has neither intrinsic nor extrinsic authority. Still 
more absurd is the tradition which essays to point out at a distance of about one hundred 
and thirty feet south of the cave the house of Martha, Mary, and Lazarus. The climax 
is reached when one is shown the very stone whereon Jesus sat, as Martha went out to 




TOMB OF LAZARUS 

him. The evil of these traditions is that their evident falseness engenders a distrust 
of all traditions, and thus one of the founts of divine truth receives harm. The land 
all about Bethany is largely a desert of stone ; and from the elevated ground north of the 
village the eye sweeps over an undulating mountainous desert even to the valley of the 
Jordan. 

At 6:00 p. m. the thermometer registers 45 Fahrenheit. 

January 8th. — We arose at 4:30 a. m., Mass at 4:45 at St. Etienne. We set out 
at 5:40 a. m. for the Greek Church and Seminary of Holy Cross. The cloister was 
founded in ancient times, certainly before the rise of Islam. The legend localized here 
is a remarkable specimen of Oriental traditions. They fable that Noah planted a tree 
here, which he watered by water which he brought from the Jordan, a day's journey 



368 



The Greek Liturgy 



distant. One day as he returned with water to water the tree, there met him the 
devil in the guise of a poor man who asked of him a drink. Moved with compassion 
he gave the seeming poor man a drink. Soon the same devil met him again in the guise 
of another poor man who also obtained a drink. This was eontinue'd^until the water 
was exhausted. Noah being fatigued and disheartened lay down te\ sleep. In a 
vision an angel told him of the deceit of the devil ; and since Noah had acted through 
mercy, the angel took the future charge of watering the tree. From this tree the 
cross of Jesus Christ was made. They show the place of the stump under the high 



THE CONVENT OF HOLY CROSS AT JERUSALEM 

altar, and the Church is therefore named the Church of Holy Cross. It is quite certain 
that this legend was believed in the fifth century, and gave rise to the church. 

To-day the priests of the Greek rite are celebrating a high Mass according to the 
liturgy of St. John Chrysostom. All Greek liturgy is accompanied by a long-enduring 
monotonous chant. The chant here has a peculiarly jerky motion, at times sinking into 
a sustained wailing cry. 

Their liturgy demands a great reverence for Holy Scripture. After the reading of 
the Gospel all the clerics kiss the book of the Gospels. The Greek priests are never 
shaven, nor is their hair cut. The hair remains unkempt, tied into a bushy knot. 
They are dirty within and without. The use of candles and incense occupies a much 
larger place in the Greek liturgy than in the Latin rite; also the sign of the cross is 



The Franciscaxs 



369 



much more practised. The sale of candles to the folk is a source of much revenue to 
the Greek priests. The folk always buy tapers of the sacristan, light them, and place 
them in a frame arranged for them before the high altar. 

The altar is separated from the body of the church by a screen generally made of 
wood called the ikonostasis or wall of images. The ikonostasis has three doors. The 
one in the middle is called the Holy Door, admitting directly to the Bema or altar. To 
the right as one faces the altar is a door opening into the diakonicon, or sacristy. To 
the left of the Holy Door is a door in the ikonastasis opening into the chapel of pro- 
thesis. In this chapel the bread and wine are prepared for Consecration. From this 
chapel all the clergy come forth bearing the book of Gospels. They pass through the 
church and into the Bema. This is called the Little Entrance. Just before the 
Consecration they pass in similar manner but with more solemnity, bearing the bread 
and wine covered with silken veils. This is called the Great Entrance. They bear 
the bread and wine in through the Holy Door to the altar. Of cotirse all these rites 
have a mystic signification. 

The Holy Door is furnished with a veil. 

The ikonostasis was in the early ages a veil, which hid the celebrant during the 
most solemn part of the Mass. After the suppression of the iconoclasts, it became a 
richly ornamented wall for the display of the ikons. 

In the Greek liturgy the Gloria does not occupy the place it does in the Latin 
liturgy, but is said in the place of the Benediction in Lauds. The invocation Kyrie 
Eleison is repeated very often throughout the Mass. The veil which hides the cele- 
brant from the people's view was drawn to at the most solemn parts of the Mass. 
All knelt at the Consecration, and at the epiklesis. This is the only genuflection in 
the liturgy, and this is of later origin. The priest first blessed the people with the 
Cup containing the consecrated bread and wine. Then followed a long doxology ; and 
common blessed bread was distributed to the people. 

The day is fine; temperature at 10:00 a. m. 50 Fahrenheit. The news of the 
fall of Port Arthur reached us here last night. The general feeling here among the 
French is that of regret; but I must say that I rejoice at the victory of the Japanese. 
News also reached us to-day of an altercation which took place at Bethlehem on the 
night of the Epiphany between the Franciscans and the Greeks. Two Franciscans, 
were slightly wounded. It seems that the Greeks insisted on passing through the 
Franciscans' flight of steps, and when the Franciscans protested, the Greeks employed 
the last argument of Aristotle. Undoubtedly both sides are to blame. The Greek: 
priests are arch hypocrites, and their only interest in the Holy Places is the revenue 
which comes to them from the pilgrims of the Greek rite who visit these places. For 
this reason they multiply legendary sanctuaries, and work on the ignorant credulity of 
the poor people who visit these sanctuaries. On the other hand the Fransciscans pro- 
voke opposition in many ways. They lose the respect of the European consuls by their 
childish contentions about trifles. The French vice consul in this instance decided in 
favor of the Greeks. A complaint will now be made to Germany and Italy in the 
name of the two Franciscan sacristans who were wounded by the Greeks; one of the 
injured brothers is a German, and the other an Italian. 

The weather remains fair, temperature at 6:00 p. m. 48 Fahrenheit. 

January 9th. — Mass at St. Etienne at 6:00 a. m. Morning clear and cool; tem- 
perature at 7:30 a. m. 41 Fahrenheit. 



370 



The Ruined Walls of Jerusalem 



It has remained cool all day. A cold wind is in the west. At Jaffa the sea is so 
stormy that the passengers from the ships can not land. This often happens at Jaffa. 

At 6:00 p. m. the temperature is 46 Fahrenheit. I went down to Casa Nova 
after dinner. I found there Rev. Mgr. Lynch of Utica and some companions. 

Later we went down along the walls of the city, down by Robinson's Arch, and 
then around the outer southeastern angle of the city walls, and along the eastern 




ROBINSON'S ARCH 



wall to St. Stephen's gate. At Robinson's Arch and at the southeastern angle many 
of the stones remain of the ancient Jewish walls. From their cyclopean size one may 
judge of the strength of Jerusalem's walls in the time of her glory. A thorough examina- 
tion of these walls was made by Captain Warren acting for the Palestine Exploration 
Fund in the years from 1867 to 1869. He found one stone at the southwest angle of 
the walls thirty-eight feet nine inches long; three feet three inches at northern end ; three 
feet four inches at middle, and three feet six inches at southern end. Some of the 
courses of masonry are much higher. Warren found one course nearly six feet high. 



The Ruined Walls of Jerusalem 



371 



Capt. Warren sunk shafts all about the west, south, and east walls of the present 
Haram enclosure. His excavation confirms the fact that the temple was here on this 
traditional spot, and that the present walls rest on the ruins of the ancient walls. Capt. 
Warren endured much opposition, and showed indomitable energy in overcoming it. 
He was well described by one who saw him in his excavations as a man "with a sub- 
terranean turn of mind." 

The Turkish authorities forbade him to dig closer to the Haram wall than forty- 
feet. Warren easily complied with that requirement, but when he had sunk the shaft 
a considerable depth at the required distance at the surface ; he opened galleries in the 
various shafts and cut right into the wall. He has thus found the rock at all these 
points, and examined the lowest course of masonry in all of them. 

Capt. Warren thus describes his excavations in front of Robinson's Arch: 

• Seven shafts were sunk in a line east and west across the Tyropceon Valley, 
opposite to Robinson's Arch, in order to ascertain the nature of the valley, and search 
for remains of the ancient viaduct. 

Xo. i. — Two hundred and eighty-five feet from Sanctuary wall, and close in under 
the eastern side of Upper City; level of surface 2,401 feet; level of rock, 2,379 feet six 
inches. Sunk through common garden soil, and at twenty-one feet six inches came 
on a polished limestone siab. six feet square, covering the main sewer of the city; it was 
six feet high, three feet wide, cut in the rock, and full of very offensive sewage, through 
which a current of water was running to south — probably from the baths ; some pieces 
of paper were thrown in, and in a few minutes they appeared in the main sewer, where 
it is uncovered, outside the Dung Gate. This seems to be the sewer through which the- 
fellahin entered the city in the time of Ibrahim Pasha, when they appeared to have 
penetrated up as far as the causeway of David Street, and found exit through some of 
the vaults there. The sewer itself runs on past the Dung Gate towards Siloah, until it 
opens out on the side of the hill above the Kidron. only a few feet south of the Foun- 
tain of the Virgin. 

The sewage at present escapes from the sewer after passing the Dung Gate, and is 
used by the fellahin for the purpose of irrigating and manuring the beautiful cabbages 
and cauliflowers which are so much prized in Jerusalem ; most of the lettuces and salads 
grown in the Kidron Valley are also periodically watered with this compound; and I 
have often noticed that visitors to Jerusalem suffer for some days after eating them. 
Good salads brought up on pure water can generally be obtained from Urtas and other 
villages, but they are more expensive. 

Xo 2. — Two hundred and fifty feet from Sanctuary wall; line of surface 2406" 6 feet 
level of rock. 2388 - 6 feet; came upon the remains of a colonnade-just below the surface, 
consisting of piers built on the rock, two feet by three feet, and twelve feet six inches 
apart, with fallen arches between; piers built of well-dressed ashlar of soft sandstone, 
similar to the ruins of Kakun. Suwaimeh. etc., in the Jordan valley. On the north 
side a plastered wall of rubble was found between the piers, and it was not ascertained 
whether there were more piers beyond : to the east they are continued (as will be seen in 
the succeeding shafts ) . and appear to have formed either a covered way or else to have 
supported the viaduct reaching over to Robinson's Arch. The flooring was much dis- 
turbed, and is formed of well-dressed limestone flagging cut in squares, and laid parallel 
to the He of the building, east and west. The piers measure about twelve feet from 
flagging to springing of arches, and are built in courses about one foot each in height. 



372 



The Ruined Walls of Jerusalem 



Cut in one of the piers is a little door, leading to a cylindrical cistern cut and roofed 
in rock, nearly filled with camel's bones, and plastered with two inches of cement; 
diameter of cistern, ten feet ; height, fifteen feet three inches; roof slightly domed. 

No. 3. — Two hundred and sixteen feet from Sanctuary wall; level of surface, 
2409.5 feet; level of rock, 2377.5 feet; at twelve feet came on arch similar to and in line 
with north wall at No. 2 ; at eighteen feet came on limestone pavement similar to No. 2 
Below pavement found debris of cut stone, two feet by one foot by one foot; and the 
remains of a wall (melekeh) running north and south, of well-squared dressed stones 
resting on the rock. 

No. 4. — One hundred and eighty-two feet from Sanctuary wall; level of surface, 
2405*5 feet; level of rock. 2383*5 feet ; at tweh _ e feet found debris of stone building, and 
part of white marble column, twelve inches in diameter. These ruins appear to be a 
portion of the colonnade met with in Nos. 2 and 3. 

No. 5. — One hundred and thirty-two feet from Sanctuary wall; level of surface, 
2399 feet; level of rock, 2369 feet. 

No. 6. — Ninety-two feet from Sanctuary wall; level of surface, 2395 feet; level 
of rock, 2354 feet six inches; passed some debris of sandstone similar to that found in 
Nos. 2,3, and 4, probably forming part of the colonnade. 

At nine feet the mouth of a shaft eight feet deep was found, and opening through 
the crown of a nearly semicircular arch, covering a tank eighteen feet long, north to 
south, eleven feet six inches wide, and fifteen feet high from bottom to springing of arch. 

It was now desirable to drive a gallery along the face of the rock from the bottom 
of this tank to the Sanctuary wall, so as to make sure of coming in contact with the 
pier, if it existed, and to examine the wall which Captain Wilson struck on in an ex- 
cavation he had made two years before. Accordingly we broke through the east wall 
of the tank, and drove a staircase gallery down along the face of the rock until we were 
seventy feet from Sanctuary wall, when we found the rock to be cut horizontally, and 
a wall of rock to our right ; we continued the gallery till we were only fifty -four feet from 
Sanctuary wall, when we found rock in front of us, and also to our left; so that we had 
for the last sixteen feet been driving along a cutting only a few inches wider than our 
gallery frames. On poking up the wall of rock in front of us to a height of five feet, a 
fine drafted stone resting in situ was discovered ; and concluding it was the western side 
of the pier of Robinson's Arch, I sunk another shaft — No. 7. — at seventy-two feet from 
the Sanctuary wall, with a gallery, which was directed so as to come about eight feet 
above the rock at the point where we had found the drafted stone. I should have 
liked to have dropped just down upon this point from above; but unfortunately the 
ground here for about sixty-eight feet from the Sanctuary wall belongs to the family of 
Abu Saud, from whom Captain Wilson had experienced such trouble in 1865, and who 
were too greedy to listen to any moderate terms. I was obliged therefore to do this 
work from the grounds of the Sheikh of the Magharibins. 

On reaching the drafted stone again, it was found to form part of the pier of 
Robinson's Arch, which pier I will now describe. It is fifty-one feet six inches long, 
twelve feet two inches thick; on the western side, where we touched it, there are onlv 
two courses in situ; on the eastern side there are three. The stones are very hard 
mezzeh, precisely similar to those in the wall at the southwest angle of the Sanctuary; 
they have the same draft and chisel marks, and are of the same heights. The lowest 
course is three feet six inches high, the second three feet nine inches, the third four feet. 



Warren's Excavations 



373 



The rock on which the bottom course rests is at a level of 2345 feet, that is, forty- 
two feet below the springing of the arch above. 

The pier stands exactly opposite the remains of the Arch of Robinson, the width 
of which Captain Wilson gives as fifty feet; the exact span is a trifle over forty-one 
feet six inches. 

These excavations prove that the valley of the Tyropceon ran down west of the 
temple dividing the upper city on the west from the eastern hill on which the temple 
was built. 

In Shaft II.. 90 feet from the south-west angle, the rock is 87 feet 6 inches beneath 
the surface, the height being made up of twenty-four courses from 3 feet 6 inches 
to 3 feet 9 inches high; the foundation stone has a marginal draft and is finely dressed; 
the stones of the next fourteen courses from the rock have finely-worked marginal 
drafts, from 4 inches to 6 inches wide, and rough three-cornered faces projecting in 
some instances 18 inches beyond the drafts as if they had not been touched after leaving 
the quarries; the stone of the sixteenth course has a face projecting 3 inches beyond 
the draft, that of the seventeenth course has a roughly-dressed face, whilst the stones 
of courses eighteen to twenty-one are s imila r to those in the Wailing Place, but much 
worn, and those of the remaining three courses are plain dressed without drafts. The 
stones are well fitted, the joints being ''hardly discernible," and so close that "the blade 
of a knife can hardly be thrust in between them;" the courses are set back 1 inch to 
give the wall a batter. At 12 feet 6 inches from the surface the shaft came upon a 
pavement of well-polished missce stones, 12 inches b}" 15 inches, and beneath this passed 
through 16 feet of concrete of stones, brick, and mortar, in which the seal of Haggai 
was found." 

The seal is inscribed "Haggai the son of Shebaniah." and is supposed to be of the 
Maccabean period. 

The jutting stones called Robinson's Arch, and Wilson's Arch are remains of the 
bridges which crossed the Tyropceon and united the western part of the city with the 
temple. 

At the north-east angle of the present Haram walls Capt. Warren sunk several 
shafts. The most remarkable of these was begun April 24. 1869. at a point 97 feet 
due east of northeast angle of the Haram wall. The level of the surface here is 2396 
above the level of the sea. At a depth of 59 feet the rock was met with. The rock 
falls one foot in three to the east. 

Warren then filled up the shaft to 33 feet from surface. He then drove a gallery 
into the Haram wall and then along the wall for a considerable distance and the masonry 
was examined. Some of it is like the Jews' Wailing Place; while in other portions 
the centres of the stones project from 6 to 10 inches. A shaft was sunk down from the 
gallery close to the Haram wall. At 36 feet the rock was struck having a very steep 
fall to south, and being cut in steps for the reception of the stones of the Haram wall. 
This shaft was then tamped. 

Warren then continued the gallery southward along the Haram wall to the south- 
ern corner of the tower. The level of the bottom of this gallery is 2363 feet; being 
33 feet below the surface of ground. Here another shaft was sunk. At 62 feet 6 
inches, a corner of masonry was found, on the stones of which Phoenician masons' 
marks were painted with red paint. The rock was found at 70 feet 9 inches from floor 
of gallery; so that the distance below the surface level was over a hundred feet. An 
aqueduct was found there cut in the solid rock after the wall had been built. 



374 



Mt. Olivet 



Warren next drove galleries and shafts towards the north till he came to what 
he supposes to be the old bed of the Kidron valley, 125 feet below the surface level of 
the shaft and 165 feet below the temple enclosure called by the Muslims the Sakhra. 
Similar shafts and galleries were made at the southeast angle of the present Haram 
enclosure. The masonry above ground here is the most massive seen at Jerusalem. 
Warren sunk a shaft in the false bed of the Kidron and found the true bed at a depth 
of 38^ feet below the false bed. There was no water flowing: but he believes that water 
flows through the true bed in the rainy season. 

At the southeast angle Warren found the rock at points between 80 and 90 feet 
below the present level. He found many curious letters painted on the stones. Mr. 
Emmanuel Deutsch declared them to be Phoenician letters, numerals, and quarry 
signs. Their significance is unknown. 

The massiveness of the masonry at the southeast angle of Haram wall may be 
judged from the statement of Warren that the corner-stone of the course weighs 
over one hundred tons. 

January 10th. — Mass at St. Etienne at 6 a. m. The morning is cloudy, cool and 
windy; temperature at 7.30 a. m., 46 Fahrenheit. 

The day has remained cloudy and cool. The temperature at 5.30 p. m. is 47 
Fahrenheit. 

January nth.— Mass at St. Etienne at 6 a. m. A very strong wind is blowing; 
sky cloudy. A few drops of rain have fallen; the thermometer has fallen to 40 
Fahrenheit. 

At 9.30 a. m. a heavy rain set in, producing a fall of three degrees in the tempera- 
ture. Some flakes of snow fell during the night, but they soon melted away. 
The rain is heavy and continuous. 

At 3.30 p. m. we had a conference by M. le Compt de Piellat on the Church of 
Abu Ghosh'. The conclusion is that the Church is of the time of the Crusades; and 
that the numerous frescoes are executed in the Byzantine style. The Church is being 
restored by the Benedictine Monks who have possession of it. The most curious fea- 
ture of the Church is the fountain of water in the crypt. M. de Piellat did not attempt 
to assign the origin of this fountain. 

January 12th. — Mass at 6 a. m. at St. Etienne. The rain has ceased; temperature 
43 F. at 7.30 a. m. 

The day has remained fair and cool. At 9 p. m., the thermometer registers 
46 F. 

Our walk this afternoon was out to the top of Olivet. This mountain is always 
interesting. The most important memories of Christ are inseparably attached to it. 
At one time its whole western slope and its summit were covered with Christian sanc- 
tuaries; but now all is a ruin. An air of loneliness and sadness hangs over it. It is 
a fit place for sad meditation on the awful mystery of sin and its consequences. 

January 13th. — Mass at St. Etienne at 5.30 a. m. After Mass I went down to the 
new gate of Jerusalem, and there met by appointment Rt. Rev. Mgr. Lynch, Rev. Father 
Meister, Rev. Father O'Brien of Albany, and Rev. Father Dougherty. We took car- 
carriages and went to the Chapel of the Ascension on Mt. Olivet. The portable altar 
was set over the famous stone in which is the traditional trace of the Lord's foot, 
and all the reverend Fathers said Mass on this spot. After Mass we visited the Muslim 
place of prayer, Rahibet Bint Hasan. It is a low, dirty, mean looking corner of the 
Dervish Cloister. 



Mt. Olivet 



375 



We went up from here to the Russian Church. It is surrounded by a large garden 
enclosed by a wall. The Church is small, but richly ornamented by pictures of in- 
ferior artistic quality. Near by is the Russian observation tower. An iron spiral 
staircase of 214 steps ascends by several landings to a platform from which one obtains 
a fine view of Jerusalem and all the surrounding country. A continuation of the 
iron spiral staircase leads up about twenty feet higher into the peak of the tower. 
From the highest point of the staircase, through a small hole in the western side, a 




TRADITIONAL PLACE OF THE ASCENSION OF CHRIST 



fine view of Jerusalem is obtainable. The passage is narrow, and admits only one per- 
son at a time. 

From its platform at the bottom of this last mentioned continuation of the spiral 
staircase, the view is valuable. To the southeast one sees Bethany, and to the east 
the great desert even to the Dead Sea. A considerable portion of the Dead Sea is vis- 
ible; and although one cannot see the Jordan, the line of its course between the moun- 
tains can be clearly traced. The great black wall of the Mountains of Moab lies along 
the eastern horizon. To the northeast the view reaches even to the Mountains of 
Gilead. To the south one sees Bethlehem on the hillside. Beyond Bethlehem on the 
line of the horizon are Herodium, and Thekoa. To the southwest is the great plain of 
Rephaim. To the west and northwest Jerusalem spreads itself out in a clear pano- 




376 




377 




378 




379 




380 



Schick's Models 



381 



rama. One can trace the course of the Tyropceon through the city, and all the tra- 
ditional sites of the city. It is the most valuable existing point to obtain a correct 
view of the situation of Jerusalem, and to fix the points of orientation for the his- 
torical sites in the land round about. 

The Greeks show a small spur of the rock in front of their church, which, according 
to their tradition, is the place of the Lord's ascension. 

We made a brief visit in the Portico of the Lord's Prayer, in the Carmelite Church, 
in the Grotto of the Apostles' Creed, and returned on foot over the steep descent of 
the Mount of Olives. Nowhere about Jerusalem does one find the Arabs more annoy- 
ing than on the top of Olivet. A stern attitude enforced by a few blows of a cane is 
the best remedy to rid oneself of the boys, who surround one demanding backshish. 

The day is cold and cloudy and threatens rain. At one p. m.. the temperature 
is 47 Fahrenheit. 

A little before noon some rain fell; and after noon the rain gradually increased, 
continuing even now at 7 p. m. The appearances indicate a rainy night. The day 
has remained cold; the temperature at 7 p. m. is 45 Fahrenheit. 

This afternoon we again visited the Jews' place of wailing, a portion of the western 
precinct of the temple wall. Then at the invitation of Mgr. Lynch and his friends 
we went out through the Damascus Gate to the residence of the late M. Schick. The 
house was called by him Tabor. His widowed daughter. Mrs. Schoenecke now lives 
there. Here in a series of three rooms one finds Schick's great models. In the first 
room is a model of the Tabernacle in the desert. It is on the scale of 1 to 20. In the 
mam it is very well executed, and is very instructive. It follows the description 
given in Exodus, and where the description in Exodus is obscure, Schick has reproduced 
his conjecture. 

The second room contains Solomon's temple on the scale of x to 200. In this 
model there is more latitude for conjectures. The description given in the Bible, 
and the description given by Josephus are taken as a basis, and Mr. Schick has sup- 
plied the rest according to his own judgment. In such a vast and detailed construc- 
tion it would be absurd to suppose that Mr. Schick has been able to reproduce faith- 
fully every element. The data available are so vague, obscure, and incomplete that 
Mr. Schick has been obliged to rely on conjectures for much of the work. But it 
is certainly a masterpiece; assuredly, the best work ever undertaken of its kind. 

As the sections of the model are movable and superposed, out of the model of 
Solomon's temple, by a slight modification the Zerubbabelean temple is restored. 
Then by more considerable modifications and substitutions the temple of Herod, 
with which the New Testament deals. Mr Schick excels in the ground plan of the 
temple. He spent many years in the construction of this great model, and he has 
studied the ground of the temple most accurately. It is unfortunate that he had not 
the preliminary education necessary to arrive at eminence in archaeology. He had 
great energy, application, and good judgment; but there always appears in his works 
the lack of a larger education. 

In the third room is a model of the place of the temple as it is found to-day. He 
has here a model of the temple of Jupiter built by Hadrian on the site of the tem- 
ple; a model of the great basilika built by Justinian; a model of the ancient form of 
the two mosques; and a model of them as they are to-day. The Mosque of el-Aksa is 
constructed out of the basilika built by Justinian in devotion to the Mother of God; 



382 



The Jews 



while the Mosque of Abd el-Melik falsely called the Mosque of Omar stands on the 
site of the great altar of Holocausts. 

Mrs. Schcenecke informed us that Oxford University had bought a copy of the 
models for the sum of five thousand pounds sterling, under condition that no other 
copy should be sold. 

Even conceding that many of Mr. Schick's conjectures are false, the work remains 
of immense value to all students of the Bible. 

January 14th. — Mass at St. Etienne at 6 a. m. It has been a night of incessant 
heavy rain. At daybreak the rain ceased, but the morning is cold and cloudy; tem- 
perature 43 Fahrenheit at 7.30 a. m. 

The rain set in again early in the forenoon, and continued until three o'clock. 
At 8.30 p. m. it is clear and windy. The thermometer remains at 43 Fahrenheit. 

January 15th. — Mass at 6 a. m. at St. Etienne. The morning is clear and cold; 
temperature at 6 a. m., 41 Fahrenheit. 

At eleven a. m. we visited the Patriarch of Jerusalem, Mgr. Piavi. We found him 
very weak, and suffering from influenza. His condition gives but little hope of 
length of days. He has an able auxiliary bishop, Mgr. Piccardo, who assumes the 
burden of the duties of the patriarch. 

The day has remained cold throughout; at 7.30 p. m. the temperature is 41 F. 

January 16th. — Mass at 6 a. m. at St. Etienne. The morning is clear and cold; 
at sunrise the thermometer registered only 39 Fahrenheit. 

The day has remained clear and cold. At noon the temperature rose to 50 F. 
At 6 p. m. it is 43 Fahrenheit. 

This afternoon we walked down through the Kidron valley as far as the Pool of 
Siloah. Then we turned westward up past the gate Nebi Daud on the traditional 
Sion, and thence northward along the wall of the city to the Jaffa gate. There is 
no beauty here at Jerusalem. Ruin and misery have here their abode. There is a 
peculiar desolate character attached to the ruins; they are ruins upon which rests the 
anathema of God. The desolation predicted by Daniel remains. A strange air per- 
vades the city; it is haunted by so many awful memories. 

The following curious incident illustrates the conditions of Jewish life in Jeru- 
salem. A few days ago Mr. Baumstark, former editor of the Oriens Christianus, pur- 
chased of a Jew here at Jerusalem several volumes of the Targums. The books were 
delivered at St. Etienne, where Mr. Baumstark is residing, by the Jewish bookseller's 
young son. The boy afterward related to others that he had entered the great insti- 
tution of St. Etienne; and so the report finally reached the ears of the Jewish Rabbi. 
The Rabbi easily obtained the information that a Jew had sold holy books of the 
Law to a Christian. The bookseller was immediately declared unclean for ten days, 
and an official declaration was made to him that if he again sold a holy book to a 
Gentile, he would be declared a "Herem",that is anathematized. 

January 17th. — Mass at St. Etienne at 6 a. m. A light rain set in during the 
night, and continues. It is the result of the wind which prevailed yesterday. When- 
ever a strong wind blows at Jerusalem, it is most surely followed by rain. The tem- 
perature is at 7.30 a. m. 43 Fahrenheit; but the excessive humidity makes it very dis- 
agreeable. Manv cases of influenza exist in Jerusalem and its environs. 

The day has remained throughout rainy and cold. The thermometer is sta- 
tionary at 43 Fahrenheit. We devoted the entire afternoon to the examination of the 
Church of St. Etienne. 



Ancient Aqueducts 



January 18th. — Mass at St. Etienne at 6 a. m. Rain has ceased; temperature at 
6 a. m., 41 Fahrenheit. 

January 19th. — Mass at St. Etienne at 5.30 a. m. At 7 a. m. we mounted horses, 
and set out for a day's promenade. We went out by the main road leading out to 
Bethlehem. We soon left the main road and took a path which runs east of Bethle- 
hem, and soon we entered a desert of lonely hills. Our first destination was Herodion. 
The ruins of Herodion stand out boldly on the southern horizon from Jerusalem. 
When we descended into valleys where other hills obscured the view, we guided our 
course by the compass, Herodion was built on a cone-shaped hill with an oval summit. 
It rises somewhat above a desert of lower hills of rock. The country all about is en- 
tirely desert. 

The Arabic name of Herodion is Jebel Furaydis. It is less than five miles from 
Bethlehem. Herod built a fortress on the Mount, and according to Josephus, was 
buried there. According to many authorities the Crusaders made a last desperate 
stand here before they were driven out of the Holy Land by the Saracens. It is for 
that cause sometimes called the Mount of the Franks. 

The ruins are neither extensive, however, nor well preserved. The castle on the 
summit was circular in form, with semicircular towers to the north-west and south, 
and a larger circular one to the E.N.E. The most interesting point was a circular cham- 
ber with a domed roof below the northern tower. The masonry throughout has all 
the appearance of the Roman or Herodian work visible at Caesarea and Tantura 
on the coast. 

The outer part of this castle is a slope of 35 degs., composed entirely of debris, 
and now indistinguishable from the surrounding soil. This is to be accounted for bv 
the fact that most of the stone used in the building is very soft and friable, and rapidly 
disintegrates. 

Below the mound to the north are the ruins of a large oblong building, with vaults 
on the north and east. Some on the latter side are still in fair preservation. The roof 
is barrel, without a keystone; an inner arch, however, has one. Windows remain in 
the wall of the eastern vault, about 1 ft. high by 2 ft. wide outside, but cut away inside 
so as to throw the greatest possible amount of light within. 

The other remains consist of a few Avells, a small clump of ruined houses, and a 
tank called Birket el Hammam. This was formerly supplied with water from 'Ain 
Urtas, which rises about 60 ft. higher. 

Over to the west are the great reservoirs commonly called Solomon's Pools. The 
great spring 'Ain Urtas was one source of supply for thd pools. Ruins of great stone 
aqueducts are found here. 

Of these there are no less than six connected with Solomon's Pools and Urtas. 

1. This is the longest, extending from Wady el Artib to Jerusalem, a distance 
of ten miles as the crow flies. It receives a branch from Wady el Biyar, and again 
from 'Ain 'Atau. As, however, the construction of its continuation from El Burak to 
Bayt Lahm and Jerusalem is different, this must be considered as a separate aqueduct. 
The part between Teku'a and Urtas is sometimes cut in the rock, but mostly carried 
over a foundation of rubble masonry, the outer wall of which in some places is as much 
as 6 ft. or 7 ft. high, and faced with ashlar. The channel varies from 18 in. to 2 ft. 
in width, and 1 ft. to 2\ ft. in depth ; it is lined throughout with good cement, and covered 
in with loose blocks or slabs of stones. 



384 



Wady Kharitun 



2. Is the continuation of this, which still supplies Bethlehem, and occasionally 
the Haram at Jerusalem, with water. Earthen pipes set in masonry form the channel 
in this case, while air-holes at intervals relieve the pressure. 

3. The high-level aqueduct passing through stone pipes is carried by the tomb of 
Rachel and the south of Mar Elias, on to the (so-called) Plain of Rephaim, whence it 
(conjecturally) passed above the Jewish alms-houses, and rounding the Birket Ma- 
milla entered the town from the north. 

4. Is a ruined aqueduct, discovered, I believe, by Major Wilson, R. E. It passed 
near the high road from Hebron to Jerusalem, east of El Khadhr, but recent alterations 
have obliterated all trace of it. 

5. This aqueduct leads from 'Ain Urtas along the northern side of the valley to 
Birket el Hamman at Jebel Furaydis. The upper part is cut in the rock. Lower 
down the channel rests on a substructure of rubble and large stones. Before reaching 
Jebel Furaydis all traces of it are lost in the soft chalky formation, but the direction 
shows its destination, which is further confirmed by the difference of level between 
Ain Urtas and Birket el Hamman. 

6. Is an aqueduct traced by Lieutenant Conder from Urtas to a ruined Birket 
called Kasr el Tahuneh, along the south side of Wady Urtas. The natives assert 
that this also went to Jebel Furaydis, but this is impossible. 

The construction of all these aqueducts, the masonry of Solomon's Pools, and the 
appearance of the cement used to line the channnels, seems to me to be Roman work. 
This, too, seems probable on referring to Josephus, Antiq. xviii. 3. 2, and Wars, ii. 
9. 4, where we are told that Pontius Pilate made an aqueduct with the Corban, or the 
money from the Temple treasury, bringing the water from a distance of 200 (in the 
latter passage it is 400) furlongs. 

Leaving Herodion we rode southeast over slippery rocks through the desert. 
The way soon became so difficult that we dismounted and led our horses. 

We arrived at noon at a great shelving rock in the great gorge of Kharitun. 
The gorge is thus named from St. Chariton who dwelt in the rocks over to the left 
side of the gorge. 

To the left were the ruins of the monastic buildings dedicated to St. Chariton, 
perched on the brink of the precipice and clinging like swallows' nests to the ledges 
and crevices. To the right a steep, rugged zigzag descends to a broad ledge of rock 
leading to Ain el Natuf (the Dripping Spring), where even at this season there was 
a sufficient supply to fill a wine-bottle in three or four minutes. The water is collected 
in two rock-hewn basins. 

Halfway down the rugged path just spoken of we turned off along a ledge of 
rock some eight feet wide to the cavern. A huge fallen block, about seven feet high, 
has to be surmounted; between this and the upper rock is a space of two and a half 
feet. Continuing along the ledge Ave come to another fallen block, and mounting this 
Ave are confronted by the door of the cave. 

The shelving rock on the Avest side of the gorge resembles a fortress. The rock 
beetles over into the gulch in a most picturesque manner. The mountains all about are 
desolate deserts of rock. 

The ca\ r e is a series of many large chambers connected by labyrinthian passages. 
The temperature of the caA r e is hot. 

The caA'e is thus described by Captain Conder ("Memoirs, " Vol. III. p. 375): — 



New Discoveries at Jerusalem 



385 



"A ledge of rock, some 6 to 8 feet wide, leads above the Ain el Natuf to the en- 
trance of the cave, in front of which are two large blocks of rock, some 7 feet high. 
The cave has three narrow entrances, with two cross passages, and these lead to a 
chamber 55 feet diameter and 30 to 40 feet high. The walls are smooth, and seem to 
have been possibly worn out by water action. It does not appear that any of the 
excavation is artificial. A very narrow passage leads in irregularly for about 100 feet 
to a second small chamber, about 10 feet in diameter, whence a rude passage runs out 
for about 25 feet. There is again a passage at a level a -few feet higher, leading west- 
ward from the second chamber for 25 feet to a third round chamber, reached by a 
drop of about 14 feet. Out of the first chamber a passage leads north at a level of 
some 4 feet above the bottom, and runs about 100 feet north to a large chamber, some 
18 feet in diameter, from which very narrow passages run out and terminate. 

There is a fifth chamber to the south-east of the fourth, and several ramifying 
passages. An important branch gallery runs away eastward from the main passage, 
terminating in three chambers about 10 to 1 5 feet diameter. Another passage, narrower 
and at a level higher than that of the main passage, runs north-west for 50 feet, and 
leads to a gallery running north and south 250 feet long. The greatest length of this 
curious cavern is 550 feet; the passages are 6 to 10 feet high; the air is dry and good, 
but the place is full of bats, and the floor entirely covered with thin dung." 

Though many have believed that this was the cave of Adullam. David's place 
of hiding, the proof that it is not the aforesaid cave is given us in I. Samuel xxii. 5: 
"And the prophet Gad said unto David: Abide not in the hold; depart and get thee 
unto the land of Judah." Therefore David was not in the land of Judah, while he 
abode in the cave of Adullam ; but Kharitun is in the land of Judah. The argument 
disposes of all the pretensions of this case. 

January 20th. — Mass at St. Etienne at 6.30 a. m. The night was quite cold. 
Scales of ice formed on the water standing in the road. At 8 a. m. the thermometer 
registers only 37J Fahrenheit, The morning is fair. 

At 3 p. m. we went to the Chapel of the Flagellation. We visited the new chapel 
now being built. The ruins of the ancient Roman road, and of some great Roman 
building are there clearly recognized. The great question is to determine what the 
buildings were, and what relation they bore to Christ. This can not be determined. 
The tradition that Christ here was scourged rests simply on the fact that here must have 
been a Roman public building. The ruins here are of the same character as those 
found a little farther west at the traditional arch of the Ecce Homo. 

The great stone pavement found here and also at the Sisters of Sion corresponds 
to the description of Gabbatha where Pilate fixed his judgment seat ; but even granting 
this we have no warrant that the scourging was executed on the same spot. 

The Greeks have recently discovered some rock-hewn chambers a little farther 
up on the Via Dolorosa. Some archaeologists believe them to have been a Roman 
prison. I doubt this strongly. It seems hardly probable that in the days when the 
Romans ruled in Syria, such prisons would be cut out in the rock. 

The scarp between the Ecce Homo Chapel and the Austrian Hospice runs from 
east to west. In the face of this scarp, and just above the rock-hewn chamber described 
as having in its N.W. corner a shallow pool with a hole in its bottom communicating 
with the lowest chamber of all, still full of rubbish and human bones, and having a 
number of eye-holes in its walls, is the entrance to a roughly cut tunnel or passage 
4m .85 long, and on an average om .90 wide and im .40 high. On either side of this 



386 



The Stations of the Cross 



passage, at its northern end, are roughly cut rock benches 2m .45 long, om .75 wide, 
with their upper surfaces roughly 1 metre distant from the ceiling. They suggest simi- 
lar benches in tombs. Another passage, evidently recently cut through the western 
bench, comes in from the left from a doorway lately cut in the outer scarp, a few feet 
west of the tunnel entrance, and at a slightly lower level. The united tunnels lead 
into a quadrangular chamber. The chamber is 2m .60 long, 2m .50 wide, and its 
greatest height from floor to ceiling is im .92. Occupying the whole length of its 
southern side is a rock-cat altar-like slab, shelf, or table 2m .36 long, im. wide, 
and with its surface rm. below the roof. At either end there is a small raised 
ridge of rock. About the middle of the northern side, not far from the partly beveled 
edge, are two great holes, cut side by side through the slab, which is om .23 thick. 
Underneath these holes is a roughly cut quadrangular recess. 

This recess is one metre long, om .40 deep and om .53 high. The holes through 
the slab come through the roof of this recess, and are each om .30 in diameter. In 
the wall, right and left of the table-top, and at the height of about one foot above it, 
are eye-holes cut in the rock. In the ceiling overhead are three such eye-holes from 
which lamps are now suspended. Besides the lamps, icons have now been placed on 
the stone-table and round the walls of the chamber, which is thus turned into a chapel, 
and has now for some time been visited by crowds of pilgrims, to whom it is 
shown as "Habs el-Messih," the Prison of Christ. Returning to the entrance passage, 
one notices that at the south end of the eastern bench a panel with a cross in relief in 
the center has been cut, with a four cornered hole in the middle, and small round 
holes at the ends of the top and arms. The surface of the panel and cross have been 
stained to look like the rest of the rock surface, but the inside of these holes shows 
fresh and white. 

It is evident that the wily Greeks have manipulated these rock chambers to give 
them the appearance of a prison ; but what their original purpose was it is not possible 
to say. 

At a little after three p. m. the Way of the Cross began. For the first station we 
entered into the Turkish Barracks and knelt on the stone pavement in the large court- 
yard within. The soldiers showed no discourtesy. The procession was composed of 
many Franciscans and a small number of pilgrims. The conduct of all was most de- 
vout. Men of all nations under the sun meet here in silence, and kneel side by side 
in the dust of the street, and adore the Redeemer, who established the brotherhood of 
man. An official of the city government is employed to go ahead, and clear the way. 
A Muslim is wisely chosen; he is glad to act for the backshish, and the populace show 
much respect for the procession. 

The devotion itself is not very ancient. Its origin is due to the localization of 
the Prastorium at the ruins of the Tower Antonia. John of Wurtzburg in 11 65 was the 
first to seek the way on which Jesus passed from the Praetorium to Golgotha. He 
mentions only one station, that of Simon of Cyrene, whose site he did not determine. 

The Citez de Jherusalem, a tract dating after the conquest of Jerusalem by Salah 
ed-Din in 1187, follows the way of the cross along the eastern part of the present Via 
Dolorosa; but only fixes three points, the Gate Dolorous, through which Jesus was led 
out to be crucified: the Church of Rest where Christ rested; and the Prison of Christ. 
In the fourteenth century the Church of Rest became changed to the third Station, 
the First Fall. 



The Stations of the Cross 



387 



In 1280 a company of European pilgrims made the Way of the Cross. They were 
led by Fra. Ricoldo. They venerated first the Praetorium, secondly, the place where 
Jesus spake to the weeping women of Jerusalem; third, the place where Jesus met his 
Mother ; fourth, the place where Simon took the cross of Jesus. That was all at this epoch. 
This condition of the tradition continued for about two hundred years. Toward the 
end of the sixteenth century we find in the Theatrum Terrae Sanctae of Adrichomius 
a list of twelve stations, corresponding to twelve of our present Way of the Cross; 
the 13th and 14th stations did not appear until after the 17th century. During the 
17th centurv we find sometimes a list of ten stations; sometimes of eight. In this 
centurv a station sometimes appears, where Christ is before Herod. The particular 




THE I. STATION OF THE CROSS IN THE BARRACKS AT JERUSALEM 



places of the stations on the Way of the Cross were not fixed until the eighteenth century. 

It appears therefore that the devotion of the Stations of the Cross did not arise 
from any local tradition of the East; but that it was a western devotion, ignoring the 
topographv of Jerusalem. In 1490 at Nuremberg the Way of the Cross consisted of 
seven stations; at Louvain in 1505, it consisted of eight stations; at Rouens of thirty- 
four stations. It was the western devotion that was afterward localized on the Via 
Dolorosa at Jerusalem. Of course the localization is not claimed by anyone to be 
topographically correct. 

The Stations came into recognition gradually. 

1st Station, Praetorium, mentioned by Theodoric, 1172. 2nd Station, Place of 
Jesus' rest, (Citez de Jherusalem, 1 187) ; becomes the First Fall of Jesus in 1335 (Jacques 



388 



The Stations of the Cross 



de Verone). The 4th station, 5th station and 8th station appear in Fra. Ricoldo's 
pilgrimage, 1280. The 7th station appears first' as the Gate of Judgment (Jacques de 
Verone 1335). It became the station of the Second Fall of Jesus in 1584 (Adrichomius). 
The 9th station appears first as the place of Jesus' resting (L. de Sudheim 1349). It 
became changed to the Third Fall of Jesus in 1480 (Anonymous writer edited by 
Schefer). The tradition of Veronica first appears in George of Nuremberg in 1436. 

The 2nd station where Jesus is laden with the cross was not detached from the 
station of the Praetorium or First station until 1584 (Adrichomius). He also speaks of 
the 10th, nth, and 12th stations. The 13th and 14th stations were not added before 
the eighteenth century, cfr. Mgr. Von Keppler Die XIV Stationen d. hi. Kreutzwegs 
Fribourg, Herder. 

January 21st. — Mass at 6 a. m. at the altar of the Crucifixion on the traditional 
Calvary. The temperature at 5.30 a. m. was 38 Fahrenheit. A feature of the climate 
here is the difference in temperature between midnight and midday. During last 
night the temperature sank so low that a frozen crust formed on the earth which yields 
under our feet ; at noon it will be perhaps upwards of 50 Fahrenheit. The sky is 
slightly hazy. 

My afternoon walk was up to the Carmelite Church of the Our Father on the Mt. 
of Olives. The Mount of Olives is truly a holy mount. The certitude of its site is 
comforting amid the universal incertitude of the other holy places. We are sure that 
at the base of Olivet across the Kidron from Jerusalem is Gethsemane, the place 
of that dreadful mystery of the Lord's prayerful agony, We are sure that he 
wept on Olivet's side over the sins of men. We are sure that down at the foot of 
the southwestern slope in Bethany, Jesus often rested with his friends, Mary, Martha, 
and Lazarus. We are sure that down on that slope "over against Bethany," Jesus 
ascended into Heaven. We are sure that Jesus often passed the night on Olivet. 
Here in the stillness of the night, under the light of the moon and the stars the Saviour 
must have often gazed over on Jerusalem, the apostate city of God. He looked north- 
ward at the abrupt knoll of Calvary, and with divine prescience contemplated the 
awful event of his death. 

A divine sadness hovers over the mountain; for it is inseparably associated with 
the Man of Sorrows. 

It is sad that an absurd tradition by fixing the Holy Sepulchre in its present site 
has drawn the attention of the faithful away from Olivet, a true sanctuary. It is true 
that the Crucifixion and Resurrection did not take place on the Mount of Olives ; but it 
is also true that the site of these two events can not be determined. We have shown 
that the traditional site is impossible. There is nothing left but conjectures as to their 
site. Hence the Mount of Olives draws one closer to Jesus than a sanctuary built on 
a site which manifestly conflicts with the Gospels. Moreover, the Church of the 
Holy Sepulchre is so polluted by the presence of the licentious and avaricious schis- 
matic Greek priests that one can not feel impressed by the holiness of the place. These 
hypocrites have made the house of God worse than a den of thieves. Here they 
dupe their ignorant followers, and filch from them their money under the pretence of 
obtaining for them divine favors. And they pollute the church itself by acts of forni- 
cation and adultery. 

The temperature at 6 p. m. is 47 Fahrenheit. 



Church of St. Anne 



389 



January 22nd. — Mass at St. Etienne at 6 a. m. The morning is cloudy and windy 
with a few drops of rain. The temperature at 6 a. m. is 43 Fahrenheit. The sun is 
struggling through the swiftly passing clouds. 

The sun finally prevailed over the clouds, but a bitter cold westerly wind continued 
throughout the day. Towards evening this wind again amassed dark threatening 
clouds over the face of the heavens. The temperature at 6 p. m. is 43 Fahrenheit. 

This afternoon we again visited the Church of St. Anne. It is always a pleasure to 
visit the noble White Fathers of the desert. We visited to-day the celebrated frescoes 
under the pavement of the present church. At the northern angle of the high altar 
there is a square opening in the stone pavement. It is covered with an iron grating, and 
is large enough to admit a man's body. The kind Fathers unlocked the iron cover, 
and raised it, and we descended by means of a small ladder into a small chamber. 
One must creep on hands and knees to move about in it. A portion of the ancient 
frescoes remain on the stuccoed walls. Also a large portion of the mosaic of the pave- 
ment is preserved. The mosaic is not rich. The frescoes are in such a state of ruin 
that is is impossible to assign to them a definite epoch. Some archaeologists place them 
in the second or third century. 

The Church of St. Anne, turned after the expulsion of the Crusaders from Jerusa- 
lem into a Muslim school and afterwards allowed to fall into decay, was, as is well 
known, offered first to England and then to France by the Sultan at the end of the 
Crimean war. It was accepted by the latter power, and restored for Christian wor- 
ship in a conservative spirit all too rare, and deserving the highest praise. It is diffi- 
cult to realize when entering the building that it is not standing exactly as the Crusaders 
left it. 

The restoration included the refitting of the rock-cut crypt, in which an ancient 
tradition has localized the birth of the Virgin. It was a large cistern-like chamber, 
approached from the west by a passage. Into this chamber the restorer, in 1863, 
inserted an apsidal chapel. 

In 1889 a series of chambers were discovered under the Church, and examined by 
Rev. Pere Cre of the White Fathers. The walls of one of the chambers are covered 
with ancient cement, upon which are remains of colored decoration. This is probably 
the oldest fragment of mural painting remaining in Jerusalem. 

The painting, as it remains, consists principally of vertical stripes of colour, each 
stripe 3 inches wide. The colours are green and red, with fine white lines between each 
stripe. In one or two places a broad band of a dirty brownish-yellow has been daubed, 
apparently, over the previously-existing colour scheme. 

The floor of this chamber is covered with mosaic. The tesserae are white or 
greyish-yellow, with a semee of red, not arranged in any definite pattern. 

At some period later than the original use of the chamber, a furnace, or oven 
has been constructed within it. 

An indication of date is afforded by the fragments of pottery mixed with the mor- 
tar on the furnace walls. These are all Roman, and as no later pottery makes its appear- 
ance we may conclude that the furnace is to be referred to the Roman period. The 
original chamber is therefore older. 

It seems probable therefore that this crypt is very ancient; but nothing farther 
can be determined of its origin. It may have been some ancient chapel; but that it 
~was anciently believed to be the tomb of St. Anne, I can not believe. The church has 
-undergone many restorations, as may be seen from the different styles of masonry of 



390 



Bethesda 



its walls. In the main, it is of the time of the Crusaders. Passing from the church 
we visited again the Pool supposed by some to be the Pool of Bethesda. 
The pool is about forty feet below the present level of the soil. That part 
of the pool which has been discovered is about one hundred and thirty feet square. 
The water is abundant. To-day there were upwards of twenty five feet of water in 
one portion of the pool. It is supposed that the pool was double, intersected by a 
transverse colonnade to make the five porticos mentioned in the Gospels. However 
the other portion has not yet been unearthed. • Down around the pool, and 
immediately over it are remains of a construction of the fourth or fifth century. After 
the ruin which fell on this early construction, the accumulation of debris filled up the 
place to the height of perhaps twenty-five feet. The Crusaders did not clear out these 
ancient ruins, but built a small chapel over the ruins, supporting it on arches. A 
portion of the apse, of this Crusaders" chapel still exists. In this mode of construction 
the Crusaders followed the mode of building universally practiced in the East from the 
earliest times. They never cleared away the ruins of former buildings, but built over 
them. Thus Mr. Bliss believes that at Tell el-Hesy eleven cities have thus been built, 
one on the ruins of the other. Mr. Macalister declares that remains of eight successive 
constructions built in this manner are found at Gezer. Undoubtedly these figures are 
exaggerated in both cases ; but it is certain that we find here several series of construc- 
tions, one built on the ruins of the other. 

Mr. Schick was persuaded that here was the Pool of Bethesda. Some ancient 
testimonies seem to support this view as well as the tradition that the Blessed Virgin 
was born here. 

"From the house of Pilate to the sheep-pool (piscina probatica) is more or less one 
hundred paces. There Christ cured the paralytic, whose bed is still there. Near 
the sheep-pool (or 'in the sheep-pool' according to some MSS.), where the sick wash 
and are healed, is a church of the Blessed Virgin." — Theod., "De Terr. Sanct." viii. 
530 A.D. 

"Returning to the city (from Aceldama), we came to a swimming-pool (piscina 
natatoria) which has five porticoes, and in one of them is the Basilica of St. Mary, in 
which many miracles are wrought. The pool itself is now choked with filth, and 
therein are washed all the necessary utensils of the city. We saw in a dark corner an 
iron chain with which the unhappy Judas hanged himself." — "Ant. Mart." xxvii. 
570 A.D. 

"I enter the holy Probatica, where the illustrious Anna brought forth Mary." — 
Sophr. ; "Anac," xx. Migne, lxxxvii. 3, p. 3821. In the same place the paralytic 
was cured, 1. c, p. 3823 ; 630 A.D. 

"Unto us is born, in the holy Probatica, the mother of God, "etc. — Joan. Dam., 
"In nat. B. V. Mar.;" Migne, xcvi. 669. See also the curious apostrophe to the 
Probatica (1. c, p. 677) and "De Fide Orth.," lib. iv. ; Migne, xciv. 1, 157; 730 A.D. 

Others place Bethesda over at Birket Israil over near the northeast angle of the 
Haram. The pool, now a great dry depression was explored by Warren. 

The Birket Israil is about three hundred and sixty feet long, one hundred and 
twenty-six feet wide, and eighty feet deep, but its great size can hardly be appreciated 
on account of the rubbish, which rises to a height of thirty-five feet above the floor. 
The rock at the bottom of the pool is covered by a bed of very hard concrete, one foot 
four and one-half inches thick, made of "alternate layers of small stones and mortar," 
and this is finished off with two and one-half inches of a "very hard and compact" 



Tombs of the Kings 



391 



plaster of cement and broken pottery. The surface of the plaster is at the level 2,325 
feet. The south wall of the pool, which is also the north wall of the Haram, differs but 
little from the walls of other pools at Jerusalem, and has nothing in ccmmon with the 
fine mural masonry of the Haram. The east end of the pool is closed by a dam 
forty-five feet thick, formed partly of rock and partly of masonry. 

The Birket Israfl seems to me the most probable site yet discovered of Bethesda. 

January 23rd. — Mass at St. Etienne at 6:00 a. m. It rained some during the 
night. The rain ceased towards morning. The morning is cloudy; temperature at 
7:30 41 Fahrenheit. 

The day has remained cloudy, and cold. The highest temperature at midday 
was only 43 Fahrenheit. At 9:00 p. m. it was only 39° Fahrenheit. 

January 24th. — Mass at 6:co a. m. at St. Etienne. It is a wintry morning. About 
half an inch of snow fell during the night. It gives a strange appearance to this city 
of ruins. The ordinary activity of the land is somewhat checked by the snow. The 
poor barefooted wretches seek shelter from the snow. The temperature this morning 
at 7:00 a. m. is only 34 Fahrenheit. 

The day remains cold and cloudy. At 3 :oo p. m. we visited the great series of rock 
tombs commonly called the "Tombs of the Kings," Archaeologists are generally agreed 
now that it is the tomb of Helen the queen of Adiabene. In fact de Saulcy found here 
"in one of the inner lower chambers a stone sarcophagus containing a skeleton. The 
scarcophagus bore an inscription in Hebrew and Syriac "Sadan Malcoth," The word 
Sadan is difficult to interpret; but Malcoth certainly meant queen. Adiabene is a 
tract of the ancient Assyria east of the Tigris. Helen, queen of this country, was con- 
verted to Judaism, and came to Jerusalem about the year 44 A.D. It was the time of 
the great famine spoken of in Acts xi. 38. She brought grain from Egypt, and em- 
ployed her riches to procure food for Jerusalem. 

At the death of her son Izatis she returned to her country, and died soon after. 
One of her sons named Monobaze sent her remains to Jerusalem, and caused them to be 
buried in the great tomb which she had prepared. The description of this tomb given 
by Josephus, its distance from Jerusalem, and the architecture all go to prove its authen- 
thenticity as the tomb of Helen. According to Josephus, Izatis had twenty-four sons, 
and twenty-four daughters, many of whom doubtless were buried here. It received 
its false name "Tomb of the Kings" from de Saulcy, its discoverer, who believed that 
he had discovered the tombs of the kings of Judah. The Greek ornamentation of the 
facade makes this supposition impossible. 

The rock-cut tombs, called "Kabur es Salade.en" and "Tombs of the Kings," are 
situated north of the present city, 2,500 feet distant from the northern gate, or "Bab 
el-Amud" — being the largest and most elaborate of the many rock-cut tombs in the 
neighborhood of Jerusalem. 

In modern times there were excavations made on two different occasions. In 
the year 1863 M. de Saulcy cleared the earth from all the chambers, and examined 
minutely the rock everywhere, and in so doing found another chamber closed up; it 
was opened, and a stone sarcophagus covered with earth found there. In this sarco- 
phagus were still the remains of bones. It was believed to have been that of a queen, 
and was taken to Paris, where it stands in the Louvre. 

A few years later, I think it was in 1878, the field in which these tombs are was 
bought (with the tombs themselves) by a French Jewish lady, it was said, for 30,000 
francs. 



392 



The Tombs of the Kings 



Going from the watchman's house towards the south-east one comes to a kind of 
trench, or decline, between rock walls. When the earth lying there was removed, a 
flight of steps appeared cut in the rock, but very irregular, varying greatly in height 
and breadth, for the height is from eight to ten inches, and the breadth from sixteen 
inches to four and five feet, the broadest even eleven feet. They are twenty-five in num- 
ber, of which the five upper ones are twenty feet long; the others (lower ones) 31 feet 
long. In the middle of steps two and three was formerly a kind of door, the holes for 
the sockets are still visible in the rock, and step three is left rather rough, except the 
space for the passage or door. The eleventh step is nearly six feet broad, and on its 




OUTER COURT OF TOMBS OF THE KINGS 



surface is cut a bowl-shaped hollow for gathering the rain-water coming down from the 
higher steps and a kind of court at their top, or western end. A short gutter cut in 
the step brings the overflow of the water to the next step below, which has all along its 
whole length a groove or gutter with a decline towards the south, where, on the rock 
wall, is cut a gutter running eastward to the cistern on the east side. So it again on 
the twenty-second step, bringing the water to the smaller cistern in the south wall. 

These two cisterns are cut in the rock, or into the side walls of the rocky stair- 
trench, and are of a peculiar kind seldom found on this side of the Jordan, but often 
in the trans- Jordanic land. I have seen such only in the neighborhood of Hebron, and 
in the underground of ancient Jerusalem, also the cave beneath the rock in the large 
mosque or "Dome of the Rock" seems to have been originally such a cistern. The usual 



The Tombs of the Kings 



393 



ancient cisterns are cut in horizontal rock; first the mouth to some depth, and the 
widening in all directions ; but these are made by cutting a hole or opening (often door- 
or window-like) in a vertical wall of rock, and deepening and widening to the right and 
left and especially towards the mountain or side opposite the entrance. When such a 
cistern is deep, and the opening goes down in a slanting direction, rock steps are left, 
so that a person can go down to the level of the water at any height, and get it by 
means of a vessel held in the hand, no bucket with a rope being required, as is neces- 
sary with other cisterns. These cisterns have generally no opening in the roof; yet 




GREAT COURT OF TOMBS OF KINGS 



the larger one here has such, but more for the purpose of letting the water run in from 
the upper surface, than for taking it out. 

At the foot of the great stone steps is a level court. In the northern wall of rock 
of this court is a door ten feet wide and nineteen feet high. The rock wall is nine feet 
thick. In passing through this wall one descends three steps into the great court 
with rock walls twenty-eight feet high. The court is nearly a square, eighty-five 
feet from east to west, and eighty-seven feet from south to north. The bottom is to some 
degree level rock, having no other flooring. Along the sides, except the eastern 
runs a rock bench or seat, and near the north-west corner, in the flooring, is a bowl- 
shaped excavation to take up the surface water. 



394 



The Tombs of the Kings 




BASIN AT TOMBS OF KINGS 



In the middle of the western rock wall is a large square opening twenty-eight feet 
long and fifteen and one-half feet high. To some degree the sides of it, but especially 
its top part, have in relief very fine sculptured decorations in a somewhat altered Doric 

style, with grapes, etc., and as Sir C. W. Wilson 
says: — "Some of the decorations have disap- 
peared under the chisel and hammer of some 
enterprising traveler." In this opening once 
stood two pillars (as may be seen on the archi- 
trave), dividing the opening into three entrances, 
the middle one somewhat wider than the side 
ones, which later had from the jamb to the pillar 
a parapet about four feet high, most probab- 
ly in some leaf work or lattice-shaped form, so 
that the middle opening was the real entrance 
to the vestibule, which is thirty-eight and one-half feet long and, without the jambs, 
fourteen feet wide and eighteen feet high. The ceiling is also rock and level, having 
only round about a small moulding. The floor is nearly three feet higher than the 
floor of the large court; four angular steps lead up to it. In front of them stood most 
probably four pillars, two opposite the jambs, and two opposite the two vestibule pil- 
lars. These outer pillars, including chapters and basements, must have been about 
twenty-six feet high, so that their architrave was as high as the highest part of the 
frieze, and other mouldings. On the top of these mouldings on the one side, and on the 
architrave of the pillars on the other side, the covering stones were laid, with a fine 
moulding towards three sides, and on it were put the basements for the three pyramids 
which Josephus mentions to have been on the mausoleum of the family of the King of 
Adiabene. 

Three large stone steps lead up to the raised rock floor of the entry to the tombs. 
This is littered with broken shafts and capitals of pillars. 

At its entrance is a curious circular basin cut in the rock. This basin is ten feet 
in diameter, and two feet six inches in depth. In the bottom an oblong prominence of 
the bed rock rises to a height of nine inches. The greatest diameter of this elevation 
in the bottom of the basin is fifty inches, smallest diameter thirty-seven inches. 

The entry cut into the rock is thirty-six feet wide, fifteen feet deep, and perhaps 
eighteen, feet high. The low entrance to the 
tombs is in the southwestern angle. 

Just in front of this low entrance is another 
circular basin, eight feet in diameter, and four 
feet deep cut down into the rock. This basin has 
not a raised bottom. 

We come now to the low entrance to the 
tombs. It is thirty-four inches high, by thirty- 
one wide. The wall of rock which it pierces is 
four feet thick. 

In front of the opening of the tomb is a 
groove ten feet long. This groove runs from east to west. It passes close to the base 
of the opening of the tomb, so that the great circular stone which rolled in it (closed 
securely) the tomb. The width of the groove at the tomb entrance is only nineteen 
inches, but as it runs back into the rock eastward it is twenty-two inches wide. This 




ENTRANCE TO TOMBS OF KINGS 



Tombs of the Kings 



39.5 



groove also slightly entered the western wall so that a shoulder of the rock at the 
western extremity held the circular stone firmly over the entrance. 

A considerable portion of this great circular stone remains there in the groove 
rolled back eastward from the opening. It was in form exactly like a mill stone Its 
thickness is sixteen inches. Considerable portions of this great stone have been 
broken off; but from that which remains we ascertain that its diameter was forty-four 
inches. 

A lateral passage is cut through the rock to permit one to come into the groove to 

the eastward to roll the stone over the opening of the tomb. 

Through the opening we come into the first rock chamber nineteen feet six inches 

square and about sixteen feet high. The overhead is slightly vaulted On all sides 

at the base of the rock-walls runs a ledge 2 7 inches broad and varying from twelve inches 

to nineteen mches in height. On this ledge the people might stand to escape the legal 

contamination of the dead body. They were only considered unclean m Pharisaic 

legislation, if they stood on the same floor with the dead bodv; and this raised ledo- e 

was not considered the same floor. 

The border ledge is a feature of 

every chamber, and needs not be 

mentioned again. 

Two sepulchral chambers 

penetrate the south wall. Their 

entrances are each five feet six 

inches high by two feet wide. 

The wall of rock which these 

entrances pierce is five feet thick. 

We first entered room marked 
d on plan. 

This room is something over 
eleven feet square, and about ten «"* 
feet high. In the east wall of plax of tombs of kixgs 

this chamber are three oven-shaped graves. All these graves generally pierce 

he rock about six feet eight inches, but they vary in width. Their openings 
are m general about thirty-four inches high, and between twenty-three or twenty-foS 
inches wide. The top of the opening is always a round arch. ' T he graves are 'either 
single or double. The single grave penetrates the rock always preserving the «a t 
dimensions of the opening. It is as though the plane of the opening was forced into 
the rock m a line at right angles to the plane of the opening. In the double grave 
after penetrating the rock some inches the chamber broadens in general to a breadth 
of forty-seven inches. In the floors of the double graves beginning at the entrance 
and running to within a few inches of the farther end a groove five" feet four nches 
ong eight and one-half inches wide and six and one-half inches deep runs in a stra Iht 
line dividing the chamber into two graves. ^raignt 
In the east wall of the aforesaid room are three oven-shaped graves The first 

TnXhT fr ° m T h int ° r ° 0m d ^ Singk **** the *W is double 

through a small opening in the southern wall of this double grave one enters into a 

, lZ v w graVC - ^ 15 6Vldent fr ° m the Smallness and general form of this 
small chamber that it never served to contain a body. These small chambers are com- 




396 



The Tombs of the Kings 



mon in all the great rock-cut tombs. Some conjecture that they may have been destined 
to contain certain personal effects of the deceased. A more probable conjecture is 
that when the flesh of the bodies had now resolved itself to dust in the graves, the bones 
were collected and placed in ossuaries in these small chambers. Thus the rock-cut 
graves might serve for an indefinite number of burials. This conjecture is confirmed 
by the fact that ossuaries have been found in these small chambers. 

In the south wall of room d are three graves ; the first and third are single ; the 
middle one is double . 

In the northwest angle of the room by a slanting descent through an opening in the 
rock thirty-one inches high and twenty-four inches broad, we enter a small chamber 
whose floor is eight feet below the floor of the room from which we entered. This 
chamber is nine feet by eight feet three inches, and six feet two inches high. The 
room contains three arcosolia with shelf graves. The two lateral shelf-graves are 
seven feet three inches long; the end shelf-grave is seven feet six inches long. The 
shelf-graves are two feet broad. The level of the end shelf-grave is twenty-one 
inches lower than the level of the lateral graves. 

We now climb back up into the chamber d, pass out into the great central room 
a, from which all the grave-chambers radiate. We pass along the south wall west- 
ward and enter the second grave-chamber through an entrance five feet eight inches 
high by two feet wide. This chamber is thirteen feet seven inches square by eight 
feet ten inches high. In its south wall are two double oven-shaped graves and one 
single oven-shaped grave. In the west wall are three double oven-shaped graves. 
Two of these have at the farther small chambers like the one already described. 

In the northwest angle of this room there is a descent through the rock exactly like 
the one previously described in chamber d. We descended by rude rock steps into 
a chamber eight feet square by six feet two inches high. It has three shelf-graves 
surmounted by arcosolia. They are all on the same level. The two lateral shelf- 
graves are seven feet long by two feet broad; the end shelf-grave is seven feet six 
inches long. 

We now ascend into chamber e, pass out into the main room a, and through an 
entrance five feet eight inches high by two feet wide in the west wall we enter chamber 
g. The rock which the entrance penetrates is about five feet thick. The room is 
thirteen feet four inches square, and eight feet ten inches high. In its south wall we 
come first to a double grave like those already described. In the center of the south 
wall we enter through an entrance five feet eight inches high by two feet wide a narrow 
chamber. It is eight feet long, by two feet ten inches wide. It contains two lateral 
arcosolia six feet two inches long by two feet broad, and one arcosolium at the end of 
equal dimensions. The face of the end arcosolium is not open the whole extent ; its 
opening is two feet six inches wide by two feet eight inches high. 

The third grave in the south wall of chamber g is double, with a rear chamber as 
before described. 

In the west wall of chamber g, the number, disposition, and dimensions of the 
graves are identical with those of the south wall, except that both double graves have 
small rear chambers as already described. 

We approach the north wall of chamber g at its western angle. The first grave is 
double with a rear chamber as those we have seen. Coming to the centre of the wall we 
enter into a narrow chamber with three arcosolia. This chamber is identical in size 
and disposition of graves with the chamber in the middle of the South wall which we 



Death op the Patriarch 



397 



have described. But through the northern wall under the shelf-grave a rock-cut 
passage ten feet long, three feet six inches wide, and three feet ten inches high leads 
into an unfurnished chamber. The floor of this chamber is three feet six inches lower 
than the floor of the room from which we entered. The chamber is eight feet by eight 
feet four inches, and six feet two inches high. It has a shelf-grave on its west wall; and 
two shelf-graves, one above the other on its northern wall. 

We now creep back through the long passage, and walk through the narrow 
chamber back into the room g. We continue eastward along its north wall to the angle 
where we find the third grave, a double grave, with a very small rear chamber. The 
rear chamber is only two feet eight inches broad, one foot three inches long, and two 
feet ten inches high. 

We came back into chamber g, and thence came out again into the main chamber 
a. There remains now only to examine an unfinished chamber into which we enter by 
a passage nine feet long, two feet three inches wide, and three feet one inch high, pierc- 
ing the north wall of chamber "a" near its west angle. The chamber is eight feet nine 
inches square; seven feet high; it contains no graves. 

The double graves in all these chambers are forty-seven inches broad. The groove 
through their center is five feet four inches long. 

We now returned to the first room which we have designated as the ante-chamber. 
At the west end of the north wall a passage through the rock nine feet long, two feet 
three inches wide and three feet high leads into a chamber eight feet nine inches square. 
It has no graves. Of all the tombs of Syria this is the most magnificent; but it is as 
nothing compared to the tombs of Biban el Mouluk which the Pharaohs of Egypt 
made for themselves in the "Mountain of the west at Sakkharah, where the Libyian 
desert confines the delta of the Nile with a wall of rock" 

The entrace is free; only it is customary to give a small offering to the guardian 
who opens the door. 

At 8:00 p. m. the thermometer registered 3 6° Fahrenheit. 

At 5:00 p. m. the Most Reverend Patriarch of Jerusalem, Mgr. Lodovico Piavi 
died at the Patriarchate here in Jerusalem. It appears that he is but little lamented. 
Of course there is the usual official lamentation ; but very little heart-sorrow. He was 
narrow and unprogressive. Before his elevation he had been a Franciscan, and he pre- 
served in his high office that narrowness of spirit which characterizes the Franciscans 
of the East. 

During yesterday the slight snow of the preceding night gradually disappeared ; 
but last night a lighter fall of snow took place. The thermometer sank below the freez- 
ing point, and at 7:30 a. m. stands at 34 Fahrenheit. 

It is not very pleasant now to live in these stone rooms on stone floors, and have no 
fire. The sun is having a great struggle with the clouds, and I hope old Sol will win. 

My hope was in vain ; it has remained a cold cloudy day. A few drops of rain 
fell after noon. 

In the afternoon I visited the corpse of the Patriarch. He lies in state in the par- 
lor of his palace, and all races and creeds visit his body. He will be buried to-morrow 
forenoon. 

At 10:00 p. m. the thermometer registered 32°Fahrenheit. 

January 26th. — Mass at St. Etienne at 6:00 a. m. During last night the temper- 
ature again sank below the freezing point. At 6:00 a. m. it is 34 Fahrenheit. The 
morning is cloudy, but shows signs of pleasanter weather. 



398 



The Wady Rababi 



At g:oo a. m. we went down to the Latin Patriarchate, to attend the funeral of 
Mgr. Piavi. In the church the different religious communities of Jerusalem, assembled 
and chanted the Office of the dead, beginning at 8:00 a.m. Then the consuls of the 
various countries came, each one preceded by a Cavass. The Schismatic Coptic Pa- 
triarch came next also preceded by a Coptic Cavass. These Copts are black as ebonv. 
The schismatic Greek patriarch came next with his Cavass. 

Soon after, the funeral procession moved from the upper parlor where the body had 
lain in state, down into the Church. The Cavasses marched in front, striking the pave- 
ment at regular intervals with their truncheons, as a signal to clear the way. Then 
came a line of religious of the various communities; chen the Bishop of St. Luis Potosi 
in Mexico, who is now a pilgrim here. By his side walked Rt. Rev. Frediano 
Giannini just now created Bishop of Beyrouth. 

Then came the auxilary Bishop of Jerusalem Mgr. Piccardo, the celebrant of the 
Mass. Then the dead patriarch was borne in an open coffin. 

A solemn pontifical Mass of requiem was celebrated in the church, where the body 
will remain until this evening, when it will be placed in the vault in the church. 

A motley crowd assembled in the courtyard of the church to witness the process- 
ion. In no other city of the world could such a multitude be assembled. 

In the afternoon we went out to Bethany with Pere Savignac. It is always a 
pleasure to be with Pere Savignac. We halted in the shelter of a rock beyond Bethany; 
built a fire; made some tea; and there ate luncheon. The present village of Bethany 
possesses no historical interest, for the reason that the ancient Bethany was higher up 
on the hillside where ruins now stand. The present wretched assemblage of huts has 
formed around the site of Lazarus' tomb. 

I again visited the tomb, and felt more confirmed of its authenticity. 

I then mounted an ass, and rode over the Mount of Olives just as the Saviour did on 
that day which has given rise to Palm Sunday. I took the southern path, as the central 
path, by whose side is built the Franciscan sanctuary called Dominus Flevit, is im- 
possible to descend for a man mounted on any beast. 

The weather remains cold, with a few drops of rain. At 9:00 p. m. Fahrenheit's 
thermometer registered 34 degrees. 

January 27th. — Mass at St. Etienne at 6:00 a. m. The temperature again dropped 
below 32 degrees last night. At 6:00 a. m. it is 34 Fahrenheit. The morning is clear 
and sunny. 

This has been the fairest day for several days. At noon the temperature was 43 
Fahrenheit; at 9:00 p. m. it is 39 . The day has been one of uninterrupted sunshine. 

January 28th. — Mass at St. Etienne at 6:00 a. m. The morning is cloudy and 
threatens rain; temperature 39 Fahrenheit at 7:30 a. m. 

In the afternoon we visited the so called Cave of the Apostles in the Schismatic 
Greek chapel on the hill called the Hill of Evil Counsel. 

The Wady er Rababi is a deep valley which passes west of Jerusalem, turns east- 
ward at the base of the traditional Mount Zion, and joins the Kidron valley at Job's 
Well (Bir Eyoub), where manv locate Topheth. The valley is bounded on the south 
by the Mount of Evil Counsel so called from the tradition that Caiaphas had his sum- 
mer house there. The side of this hill which slopes down to the bed of Wady er- 
Rababi is the most generally accepted site of Hakeldama. The whole face of the 
hill is filled with great rockcut tombs. Many of these were afterwards inhabited by 
Christian hermits. The most remarkable of these is called the Tomb of St. Onophrius. 



The Environs of Jerusalem 



399 



The Greeks purchased this in 1874, and in 1893 constructed there a monastery. In 
many of these tombs great heaps of human bones are found. Mr. Macalister has accur- 
atelv described sixty-six of these great tombs. Some are surpassed in size only by the 
so-called Tombs of the Kings. The Greeks have filled the tombs in and about this 
monastery with bones brought there from other tombs. One of the great tombs or 
rather groups of tombs was united under one roof by the Crusaders to form a charnel 
house for the bones of pilgrims who died at Jerusalem. Many of the bones are here; 
others have been taken into the monastery by the Greeks to make an impression on the 
pilgrims who come to them. 

There is no conclusive evidence to locate Hakeldama here, or elsewhere. 

The sight of these great heaps of human skulls, and human bones is horrible. 
No man can definitely say to whom they belonged. The)'' are heaped up there pro- 
miscuously in the trough-like rock-graves, awaiting the judgment day. 

Going forth from the Greek chapel we visited the other rock-graves in the hillside. 
The whole ledge is filled with sepulchral rock-chambers, none however of the size and 
richness of the so-called Tombs of the Judges or the so-called Tomb of the Kings. 

No man can determine the site of Hakeldama ; but certainly the tradition which 
places it here is intrinsecally possible. The Greek tradition fastens to this ledge as 
Hakeldama; the Latin tradition places Hakeldama a little farther westward in the 
same series of tombs. 

The temperature at 9:00 p. m. is 39 Fahrenheit. 

January 29th. — Mass at the Altar of the Appearance of Our Lord to Magdalene in 
the Church of the Holy Sepulchre at 5:45 a. m. 

The temperature dropped below the freezing point during the night. Ice formed 
all about on the standing water in the roads. At 5:30 a. m. the temperature was still 
nearly a degree below freezing. The morning is clear, and the day promises to be fine. 

It has been a day of sunshine, but the temperature has remained low. We went 
up to the top of the Mount of Olives after vespers, and ascended the Russian tower for 
the view. From this high tower one can study the general topography of Jerusalem 
most satisfactorily. As we passed by the northern wall of Jerusalem we found on the 
standing water in the road a crust of ice more than half an inch in thickness. To- 
night will be cold: at 9:00 p. m. Fahrenheit's thermometer registers 41 degrees. 

January 30th. — Mass at 6:00 a. m. at St. Etienne. The morning is slightly cloudy; 
temperature at 6:00 a. m. 37 Fahrenheit. 

At 9:00 a. m. rain mingled with sleet began to fall. During the remainder of the 
day rain alternated with sunshine. At 9:00 p. m. the temperature is 40 degrees. 

January 31st. — Mass at St. Etienne at 6:00 a. m. It froze during the night. The 
morning is fair and sunny; the temperature at 5:30 a. m. was 38 Fahrenheit. 

To-day has been the fairest in many days. There was some cloudiness; but sun- 
shine was the greater portion of the day. It is also somewhat warmer. At 6:00 p. m. 
the temperature was 44 Fahrenheit. 

At 3:00 p. m. we went down through the southeastern continuation of the great 
Kidron Valley. This prolongation of the Kidron Valley which extends from its 
juncture with the Wady er-Rababi southeasterly is called the Wady en-Nar. 

We walked down over the western slope of this valley to a point about half a mile 
southeast of the aforesaid junction. The hillsides on both sides of the valley are steep 
and rocky. Scanty pasturage is found here for the flocks. Some small patches of land 
on the hillside are cultivated. In the bed of the vallev there is some arable land. 



400 



The Field of Blood 



There is an awful impressiveness in the silence and desolation of these mountains and 
valleys. This silence is horribly broken by the great ravens, hawks and owls which 
fly about. The olive trees and the fig trees are poor and neglected. A little grain is 
cultivated on the rocky terraces among the stones. When one meets one of the 
wretched dwellers of the land, one meets a representative of misery, ignorance, and 
dirt. Degradation of man, woman, and child is here complete. They live a mere 
animal existence. 

In all these hillsides one finds rock-tombs. We visited a great tomb in the western 
slope of the valley about half a mile southeast of the Pool of Siloah. In the wall of 




HAKELDAMA — GREEK CONVENT 



rock of the hillside an entry is cut into the rock with perpendicular walls. It is about 
forty-five feet wide, thirteen feet deep, and twelve feet high. In the western wall of 
this entry is the entrance proper of the tombs. This entrance is not more than four 
feet high by two feet wide. Through this one enters into a vast rock-chamber about 
twenty feet square and fully twenty feet high. This is the atrium of the tombs where 
the bodies were prepared for burial. The vaults in the walls of rock give evidence that 
this room is simply an enlarged cave. 

At the northwestern angle of this vast chamber there is cut through the rock a 
passage twelve feet long, six feet high, and twenty inches wide. It runs directly 
north through the rock, and opens into a rock-chamber twelve feet square, and about 
seventeen feet high. It is irregularly vaulted. In the rock walls of this chamber are 



Tombs in the TTady Rababi 



401 



eleven oven-shaped graves, three in the north wall; three in the east wall; three in the 
west wall; and two in the south wall, where is the entrance. These graves are larger 
than those of the Tombs of the Judges, being about seven feet long, three feet high, 
and two feet wide. 

At the southwestern angle of the great atrium before mentioned a similar passage 
runs through the rock directly south into a room in every particular like the one before 
described, except that the entrance being in the northern wall, the two graves are in 
this wall. 

Returning to the atrium we entered through a passage cut through the rock at 




SOUTHERN PROLONGATION OF THE KIDRON VALLEY 



the centre of the floor line. This passage is about 10 feet long, 6 feet high, and 20 
inches wide. It leads directly westward into a square rock-chamber, about 15 feet 
square, and 20 feet high. It is also irregularly vaulted. In its northern side is a row 
of three oven shaped graves, in the south side is a row of three similar graves; and 
two like graves in the east wall, where is the entrance. These graves are of the same 
dimensions as those already described. In the western wall there are no graves, but 
in the centre on the plane of the floor a passage leads through the rock for fully twenty 
feet, and opens into a rock-chamber about 12 by 12. and 15 feet high. There are no 
graves in the walls of this room, it being evidently unfinished. The passage leading 
into it is so low that one must creep on hands and knees to enter through it. 
All the graves enter the rock on the plane of the floor. 



402 



The Funeral of a Carmelite Nun 



A curious feature of these grave chambers is that as the base of the walls there 
is left a bank of the live rock, a cubit broad and a cubit high; where the Jews might 
stand to avoid being on the same floor as that where the body lay. This was necessary, 
according to Pharisaic interpretation, to avoid legal impurity. 

A most weird sound is the reverberation of a human voice re-echoing through 
these empty chambers of the dead. 

February ist. — Mass at St. Etienne at 6 a. m. It rained during the night, and is 
still raining; temperature at 6 a. m. 37° Fahrenheit. 

The day has remained rainy and cold. At 9 p. m. it is 40 F. 

February 2nd. — Mass at the Church of St. Anne at the so-called Tomb of 
St. Anne. The morning is beautiful, a real spring morning. The sun rose in a cloud- 
less sky. The temperature at 6 a. m. was only 38 Fahrenheit, but it is rising. 

The day has been one of clear sunshine. At midday the temperature was 49 . 

This afternoon we visited the Birket Mamilla. It lies directly west of the city 
a few hundred yards from the Gate Abdul Hamid. The great pool is in a large walled 
enclosure used as a Muslim burial place. For this reason it is difficult to gain access, 
as the Muslims regard the entrance of a non-Muslim a profanation of the place of the 
dead. A backshish effects the entrance. The pool is cut into the soft rock in a de- 
pression in the field. Its walls are of masonry. It is 290 feet long, 197 feet wide, 
and 20 feet deep. It has water only in the rainy season. An underground conduit 
■connects it with a large pool in Jerusalem, which is ascribed by some to the king Heze- 
kiah. Josephus calls it Amygdalon or the Pool of the Tower. Its real identity has 
not been ascertained. 

Tradition affirms that in the bloody persecution under Chosroes the Persian, 
many Christians massacred by the Persians were buried in the Pool of Birket Mamilla. 
It was also believed by some to be the pool spoken of in II. Chronicles xxxii. 30; but 
this opinion is now meritedly discarded. The Book of Chronicles speaks of the Foun- 
tain of the Virgin, whose waters Hezekiah. conducted into the Pool of Siloah. 

February 3rd. — Mass at St. Etienne at 6 a. m. After Mass I went to the Carmelite 
•Convent on the top of the Mount of Olives to assist at the funeral of one of the nuns. 
She had been ill for some time, but the end came suddenly last Wednesday night. 
When the nuns of the Community saw that death was approaching, they sent a hurried 
call to the White Fathers of the Church of St. Anne. The response was immediate, 
but the nun died before the priest reached her. Inasmuch as all the twenty-one years 
of her life in the Community had been a preparation for death, we may feel assured 
that she was ready. 

The body was laid out in the room behind the iron grating where the nuns assemble 
to hear Mass. Her habit was poor and worn. Her feet were bare. She lay in an open 
coffin made of plain unpainted boards. A thin cheap black gauze was tacked about 
the outside of the coffin. The sunken emaciated cheeks gave evidence of her rigorous 
ascetical life. 

The nuns of the Community, heavily veiled, knelt about the coffin during the 
Mass. The Superior of the White Fathers chanted the Mass, while other White 
Fathers sang in the choir. In the Church were present a few Passionists, one Fran- 
ciscan, one Benedictine, a secular priest, a few Sisters of Charity, and myself. With 
few exceptions the spirit reigning among the religious bodies here at Jerusalem is 
not that commended by the Saviour to his disciples in this same city. The members 
of the various orders too often restrict their interest and their sympathies to the things 



Bedawin Funeral 



403 



that pertain to their own orders. Hence there exists among the members of different 
communities a cold reserve. They have come here not to spread the Kingdom of 
God and to rejoice, like St. Paul, that Christ be preached, no matter by whom; but 
they have come here to promote the interests of their own orders. This statement 
admits of certain exceptions. 

After the Mass the celebrant and clergy entered the room where the body lay 
and a liturgical rite of absolution was performed over it. The body was then borne by 
the nuns down into a sort of Columbarium under a portion of the convent. It is 
reached by a passage leading off from the Garden, and descending several stone steps. 
The Columbarium is in the form of one long passage about 30 feet long, 6 feet wide, 
and 25 feet high. In each wall are tiers of ovenlike graves large enough to admit an 
ordinary coffin. The whole number of these niches is 78. The body is thrust length- 
wise into the niche, and then the opening is sealed by masonry. Into one of these 
niches the dead nun was placed. Before the body was thrust into the niche a plain 
board was nailed over the coffin as a cover. Then all withdrew. 

There is a noble dignity in such a scene. In contrast to it the pomp, wealth, 
and glory of the world are truly revealed in their vulgarity, their falseness, and their 
utter worthlessness. Here in this convent there are no half measures. They have 
left all, and followed Christ. 

The day is very fair, the temperature at 11 a. m. is 49 Fahrenheit. 

At noon it became cloudy, and a little rain fell during the afternoon. At 6 p. m. 
the thermometer registers 43 Fahrenheit. 

To-day I have witnessed the awful contrast of death in two different phases. 
This morning I assisted at the burial of the holy Carmelite nun. This afternoon I 
witnessed the burial of an Arab of the encampment which is just across the road 
from St. Etienne. 

The Arab died in his tent between three and four o'clock this morning. As he 
died, dreadful cries of mourning came from the encampment. This boisterous wailing 
was continued until after his burial this afternoon. The dead man was the brother 
of the Sheikh of the camp. 

Soon after noon preparations were begun for the burial. They lighted a fire and 
heated some water. The body was brought out of the wretched tent and laid on a 
sort of table. They there washed the body very thoroughly with soap and warm water. 
It is quite certain that never in life was that body so washed. They then spread on 
the ground some of their cloaks, and on these laid the clean white grave clothes. They 
were merely sheets which were to envelop the body. The body was then laid on these 
sheets, and they were quite artistically wound round the body. Even a clean white 
turban w r as adjusted on the head. Nothing was placed on the feet; they were merely 
wound in the sheet. An aromatic powder was sprinkled over the sheets as they were 
wound around the body. Even some flowers were placed in the hands. 

The body was then placed in the bier, which resembled a large plain coffin. A 
roof-shaped cover w r as fastened, over the bier, and this was ornamented with 
cloths of bright colors. 

During all this time a company of women sat on the ground nearby, and kept up 
a continuous loud lament, intermingled with gesticulations of grief. Some of the 
women were widows, and kindred of the dead man; others were public mourners. 
They at times beat their faces and breasts with their hands, and again cast the dust 
upon their heads. The faces, hands, and arms of these women were tatooed in the 



404 



Climate of Jerusalem 



most barbarous fashion. Their faces were not veiled. They were clothed in scanty 
rags, and were very filthy. Every instinct of decency is destroyed in these poor 
wretches. The ground about the tent is so befouled that one must pick his steps. 

Certain of these women tore off portions of their rags and kept twirling them about 
on their fingers to aid their expression of grief. 

A curious feature of the ceremony was the arrival from the Mosque of three 
blind Dervishes. These repeated in union in a sort of chant the one sentence: La 
Ilaha ill' Allah. "There is no God, but Allah." This sentence is repeated an infinite 
number of times forming a weird monotony. These Dervishes have voluntarily put 
out their eyes to avoid looking upon a woman. 

The bier was now lifted on the shoulders of four men, and the procession set out 
for the great Haram es-Sherif . 

But now the most curious spectacle of all was presented. As the body was carried, 
the head was forward ; but repeatedly the bearers turned about so that the head faced 
back toward the camp. This turning was not done quietly, but with agitation, as 
though the bearers were compelled by an unseen force to turn about. The super- 
stition of the Bedawin is that the soul of the dead man thus struggles against going 
forth from the camp. Of course it is a trick of the bearers, but the impression on the 
beholder is weird. The bearers execute the movement so well that it has all the 
appearance of being effected by some force within the coffin itself. 

The women followed the body with loud cries of lament. The faces of these women 
were swollen and inflamed from the effect of their mourning. 

From the Mosque the body was brought out to Gordon's Calvary, and there buried 
in that form of burial which I have before described. 

It was a moving sight to see the aged Sheikh, the brother of the dead man, in 
his grief. His grief was real and deep. It overcame him, and he sank down on the 
ground helpless as a child. 

February 4th. — Mass at 6 a. m. at St. Etienne. The morning is slightly hazy, 
but mild; temperature at 6 a. m., 40 Fahrenheit. 

At noon the sky became overcast with clouds; a disagreeable wind blew from the 
west; and a few drops of rain fell. Later in the afternoon the clouds gradually dis- 
persed. The temperature at 9 p. m. is 43 Fahrenheit. 

February 5th. — Mass at the Altar of the Crucifixion on the traditional Calvary at 
6.15 a. m. 

The night has been windy with some rain. It cleared at sunrise, and at 7.30 
a. m., the thermometer registers 41 Fahrenheit. 

The weather changes very suddenly here at Jerusalem. Though this morning 
was sunny, soon after noon a heavy winter rain set in. The storm increased in vio- 
lence throughout the afternoon. The wind drove the rain in great sheets of water. 
The temperature at 5 p. m. is 41 Fahrenheit, but the high wind, and the humid atmos- 
phere increase the sensation of cold. 

February 6th. — Mass at 6 a. m. at St. Etienne. A high wind and heavy rain 
prevailed all night. At dawn the wind calmed, and the rain became less violent. 
At 6 a. m. the temperature was 39 Fahrenheit. 

Early in the forenoon the rain became heavy, and continued incessantly until 
sunset. At 9 p. m. there is not a cloud in the sky. The thermometer registers 41 
Fahrenheit. 



The Sceurs Reparatrices 



405 



February jth. — Mass at St. Etienne at 6 a. m. The rain has ceased, and the morn 
is clear and sunny. Temperature at 6 a. m., 39 Fahrenheit. The day has remained 
fair; temperature at 9 p. m., 41 Fahrenheit. 

February 8th. — -The morning is beautiful; not a cloud in the sky, and the tem- 
perature at 8 a. m., 43 Fahrenheit. 

To-day I said Mass at 7.30 a. m. in the Chapel of the Sisters of Perpetual Adora- 




DERVISH BEGGARS 

tion just outside the Gate of Bab Abdul Hamid. These Sisters have a beautiful Chapel 
and Convent. Their main occupation is the perpetual adoration of the Blessed Sac- 
ram nt, which never fails night and day. Two adorers kneel in adoration continually. 
During the day they are changed every half hour ; during the night every hour. These 
Sisters also make objects of devotion, from the sale of which is derived their principal 
revenue. A chief item of their expense is the large number of candles necessary for 
the Perpetual Adoration. The spirit of the world might find it strange that these 
women leave the world and its active work, to consecrate their lives to this contem- 



406 



Climate of Jerusalem 



p ative devotion. The same spirit of the world can not understand why the highest 
lmmendation was given by Jesus to Mary of Bethany who sat at Jesus' feet, while 
Martha was busied with much serving. But those who study to find the law of life 
in the Gospel of Jesus Christ know that those serve Jesus best who simply sit at Jesus' 
feet, and look up into his divine face. They have chosen the better part. 

But the obvious objection will be raised: Shall we withdraw into chapels and 
cells of contemplation for adoration, and leave our fellow-mortals to be lost in ignor- 
ance, misery, and sin out in the world? Is it well to close our eyes upon the world's 
activity, and withdraw into the sanctuary for contemplation, while outside our door 
souls for whom Christ died are perishing in ignorance and sin? The answer to these 
important questions is manifest. There are diversities of ministrations, but the same 
Lord. There is a place for contemplatives, and a place for more active ministration 
in the Lord's service. St. John prepared for his great career by long years alone in 
the desert. 

These nuns do not exclude charitable work. They give retreats to girls and women, 
instruct children, feed the hungry, and do many other corporal and spiritual works 
of mercy. 

I found in the Convent of these pious nuns an American nun. She was born in 
New York, but was educated in Paris. Her name in religion is Sister Mary of St. 
Paul Miki. She is thus named after St. Paul Miki, one of the Japanese Martyrs. 
She has been many years here in Jerusalem. It was a great pleasure to find an Amer- 
ican here in Jerusalem ; and also to find one of my country so devoted to Jesus, who is 
the central thought of all true pilgrims. 

Pilgrims who visit Jerusalem will do well to purchase their objects of devotion 
of the nuns of the various communities here in Jerusalem. In general the objects are 
made by the nuns and orphans, and the workmanship is much better than one finds in 
the shops. Secondly, one avoids all danger of being cheated; and finally, one thus helps 
on. the good that these nuns do at Jerusalem. I can from personal experience specially 
recommend the Carmelites on Mt. Olivet, the Sisters of Sion on the Via Dolorosa, 
and the Nuns of the Perpetual Adoration. Americans will find an advantage at the 
latter place in finding there the American Sister Mary of St. Paul Miki. 

The afternoon was cloudy, but the clouds dispersed as sunset. At 9 p. m. the 
temperature is 41 Fahrenheit. 

February 9th. — Mass at St. Etienne at 5.30 a. m. 

We had arranged to go to-day to Nebi Samouil, and Kubeibeh. Everything seemed 
favorable last night; but in the night a strong wind arose and brought up rain. A 
heavy rain is now falling, and the wind is quite strong. The temperature at 6 a. m. 
is 39 Fahrenheit. Our journey is abandoned, and there is nothing left, but to drag 
out another dreary dark day in this land of desolation. 

Early in the forenoon the rain became a deluge. The courtyard in front of St. 
Etienne is a lake of water. The streets of Jerusalem are creeks of running water. 
With a few short pauses the rain has thus continued all day, and still continues at 
nightfall. Never in America have I seen such a continuous heavy rain. It has the 
violence of our heavy showers, and continues often for days without cessation. 

During the afternoon the thermometer remained at about 42 Fahrenheit. At 
9 p. m. it registers 41 Fahrenheit. 

February 10th. — Mass at 6.15 a. m. at St. Etienne. It was still raining at six 
o'clock this morning. Soon after it ceased, and a faint struggling sunlight comes to 



The Haram es-Sherif 



407 



us through the clouds. A great bank of black clouds lies off on the western horizon, 
and what a few hours may produce can not be conjectured. 

Sunshine and heavy showers have alternated throughout the day. At sunset 
the clouds are breaking up, and we hope for fair weather to-morrow. The highest 
temperature to-day was 43 Fahrenheit. At 9 p. m. it remains at 43° Fahrenheit. 

February nth. — Mass at 6.15 a. m. at St. Etienne. It rained in torrents during 
the night, and it is still raining, though less violently. The men of the land say that 
the rain and the cold of this winter are unparalleled in their memory. 

At 6 a. m., Fahrenheit's thermometer registers 41 . 

A continuous downpour of rain has continued all day. Not once were the clouds 
broken to permit a ray of sunlight. r>uring such weather in this land, one's ' dwelling 
becomes a prison. At 9 p. m., the temperature is 41 Fahrenheit. It is still raining. 

February 12th. — Mass at the Chapel of the Sceurs de Marie Reparatrice at 8 a. m. 
It is a very beautiful chapel, and very clean. Cleanliness in this land is always of 
exotic origin. The Mus lim is dirty in his soul and in his body. The Franciscans are 
not deficient in cleanliness in their chapels: but there is always the absence of that 
grace and refinement which the true woman always diffuses round about her. In the 
Chapel of Perpetual Adoration one finds not alone cleanliness, but beauty and artistic 
arrangement, the expression of that all-consuming love which these angels of purity 
feel for the Redeemer. 

At 6 a. m., the thermometer registered 41 Fahrenheit, and it was still raining. 
At 9.30 a. m., the rain ceased, and a ray of sunshine struggled through the clouds. 

The reign of the sun was of short duration to-day. Rain predominated through 
the greater portion of the day. At 9 p. m. the heavens ceased to drip, and the "moist 
star, upon whose influence Neptune's empire stands." emerged from the clouds. 

The temperature at 9 p. m. is 41 Fahrenheit. 

February 13th. — Mass at 6 a. m. at St. Etienne. The rain has ceased, and the 
sun is shining faintly out of a hazy sky. The temperature remains at 41 Fahrenheit. 

Though the day has remained cloudy, the sunshine has predominated. The 
highest temperature of the day was 50 Fahrenheit. 

The fair weather to-day permitted a walk. After the lecture in Arabic, we walked 
around the walls of Jerusalem. This walk is for me always of extreme interest. In 
contemplation my mind" goes over the mighty events which have been wrought within 
and without these walls. At the south-westem angle some of the great stones of the 
ancient wall are in situ. The largest vary from fourteen to eighteen feet in length; 
from four to six feet in width : and from two to two and a half feet in thickness. One 
must see them to form a just conception of their massiveness. and they are much smaller 
than some in the lower courses which Warren explored. If the weather permits, 
we shall visit to-morrow the famous Haram es-Sherif, the so-called Mosque of Omar 
on the site of the ancient temple. 

At 9 p. m. the temperature is 44° Fahrenheit. 

February 14th. — Mass at St. Etienne at 6 a. m. The morning is cloudy and 
threatens rain; temperature at 6 a.m., 45° Fahrenheit. 

The forenoon remained cloudy ; but after noon the sky cleared, and we had a plea- 
sant afternoon for our visit to the great Haram. We obtained the Cavass of the French 
Consulate, and he obtained a Turkish soldier as our guard. With this escort we arrived 
at the Bab en-Nasira at 2 p. m. We entered the great esplanade, and began our la- 
borious task of observation. 



408 



Omar 



The name Haram es-Sherif literally means the "Noble Sanctuary." This is the 
Muslim name of the site of the great temple where now they have their mosque. 
This name is often abbreviated to "The Haram," the sanctuary. The rock of the 
enclosure is called the Sakhrah. 

From Arab writers we may construct the following history: 

On the death of Muhammad, Abu Bekr es Sadfk was appointed his caliph (Khal- 
ffeh or vice-regent), and he was in turn succeeded by 'Omar el Khattab as temporal 
and spiritual head of the Mussulman community. 

In the 15th year of the Hijrah (A. D. 636) Abu 'Obeidah Ibn el Jerrah, general 




THE TEMPLE AREA 



of the Mussulman army, after a series of brilliant victories in Syria and Palestine, 
turned his attention to Jerusalem, and his first step was to write a letter to the Christian 
patriarch of the Holy City, requiring him and all the inhabitants either to embrace 
the Muhammadan religion or to pay the usual tribute exacted from unbelievers. 
"If you refuse," said he, "you will have to contend with people who love the taste of 
death more than you love wine and swine's flesh, and rest assured that I will come up 
against you, and will not depart until I have slain all the able-bodied men among you, 
and carried off your women and children captive." 

To this message a decisive refusal was returned, and 'Omar, in accordance with 
his threat, marched upon Jerusalem and besieged the town. The Christians, after 
several unsuccessful sallies, finding themselves reduced to great straits by the protracted 



Jerusalem Taken by Omar 



Hid 



siege, made overtures for capitulation, but refused to treat with any but the Caliph 
himself. Having exacted a solemn oath from them that they would hold to the pro- 
posed condition in case of the Caliph's arrival, the general sent a message to 'Omar, 
inviting him to leave Medina, and receive in person the capitulation of the town. The 
messengers from Abu 'Obeidah's camp were accompanied by some representatives 
of the Christian community, and the latter were much astonished at the stern sim- 
plicity and comparative retirement in which the Caliph was living, and which but ill 
accorded with their previously conceived ideas of the great monarch who had con- 
quered the whole of Arabia and Syria, and had made the Emperors of Greece and 
Persia to tremble on their thrones. The meeting between the Caliph and his victorious 
general was still further calculated to impress them. 'Omar was mounted on a camel, 
and attired in a simple Bedawi costume, — a sheepskin cloak, and coarse cotton shirt; 
Abu 'Obeidah was mounted on a small she-camel, an 'abba folded over the saddle, 
and a rude halter of twisted hair forming her only trappings; he wore his armor, and 
carried his bow slung across his shoulder. Abu 'Obeidah, dismounting from his beast, 
approached the Caliph in a respectful attitude; but the latter dismounting at almost 
the same moment, stooped to kiss his general's feet, whereupon there ensued a contest 
of humility which was only put an end to by the two great men mutually consenting 
to embrace after the fashion of Arab sheikhs who meet upon equal terms. A story of 
'Omar's paying a man for some grapes which his followers had heedlessly plucked as 
they came in from their thirsty ride, and several other instances of his great integrity 
and unassuming manner, are related by the Arab historians. Xo doubt these in- 
cidents were to some extent the offspring of "the pride which apes humility;" yet the 
Muslim sovereign really seems to have possessed some good and amiable qualities. 

"Omar pitched his camp upon the Mount of Olives, where he was immediately 
visited by a messenger from the patriarch of Jerusalem, who sent to welcome him and 
and renew the offers of capitulation. The armistice previously granted having been 
confirmed, and the personal safety of the Patriarch and his immediate followers being 
guaranteed, that dignitary set out with a large company of attendants for the Caliph's 
tent, and proceeded to confer with him personally and to draw up the articles of peace. 
The terms, exacted from Jerusalem in common with the other conquered cities, in 
spite of 'Omar's boasted generosity and equity, were extremely hard and humiliating 
for the Christians. They ran as follows: — 

The Christians shall enjoy security both of person and property, the safety of their 
churches shall be. moreover, guaranteed, and no interference is to be permitted on the 
part of the Muhammadans with any of their religious exercises, houses, or institutions; 
provided only that such churches or religious institutions shall be open night and day 
to the inspection of the Muslim authorities. All strangers and others are to be per- 
mitted to leave the town if they think fit, but any one electing to remain shall be sub- 
ject to the herein-mentioned stipulations. No payment shall be exacted from any 
one until after the gathering in of his harvest. Muhammadans are to be treated every- 
where with the greatest respect; the Christians must extend to them the the rights of 
hospitality, rise to receive them, and accord them the first place of honor in their as- 
semblies. The Christians are to build no new churches, convents, or other religious 
edifices, either within or without the city, or in any other part of the Muslim territory; 
they shall not teach their children the Koran, but no one shall be prevented from em- 
bracing the Muhammadan religion. Xo public exhibition of any kind of the Christian 
religion is to be permitted. They shall not in any way imitate the Muslims either in 



410 



The Sakhrah 



dress or behaviour, nor make use of their language in writing or engraving, nor adopt 
Muslim names or appellations. They shall not carry arms, nor ride astride their ani- 
mals, nor wear nor publicly exhibit the sign of the cross. They shall not make use of 
bells; nor strike the nakus (wooden gong) except with a suppressed sound; nor place 
their lamps in public places, nor raise their voices in lamentation for the dead. They 
shall shave the front part of the head and gird up the dress, and, lastly, they shall 
never intrude into any Muslim's house on any pretext whatever. To these conditions 
'Omar added the following clause to be accepted by the Christians: That no Christian 
shall strike a Muslim, and that if any single one of the previous stipulations were not com- 
plied with they should confess that their lives were justly forfeit, and that they were 
deserving of the punishment inflicted upon rebellious subjects. 

When these terms had been agreed upon by both sides, and the treaty signed and 
sealed, 'Omar requested the Patriarch to lead him to the Mosque (Masjid, or "place 
of adoration") of David. The Patriarch acceded to this request, 'Omar, accompanied 
by 4,000 attendants, was conducted by him into the Holy City. They first proceeded 
to the Church of the Holy Sepulchre, which the Patriarch pointed out as the site of 
David's temple. "Thou liest," said 'Omar, curtly. They next visited the church 
called Sion, which the Patriarch again pointed out as the Mosque of David, and again 
'Omar gave him the lie. After this they proceeded to the Masjid of Jerusalem, and 
halted at the gate, which is called in the present day Bab Muhammad. Now the 
dung in the mosque had settled on the steps of the door in such quantities that it came 
out into the street in which the door is situated, and nearly clung to the roofed arch- 
way of the street. Hereupon the Patriarch said, "We shall never be able to enter 
unless we crawl upon our hands and knees." "Well," replied the Caliph, "on our hands 
and knees be it." So the Patriarch led the way, followed by 'Omar and the rest of the 
party, and they crawled along until they came out upon the courtyard of the Temple, 
where they could stand upright. Then 'Omar, having surveyed the place attentively 
for some time, suddenly exclaimed: "By Him in whose hands my soul is, this is the 
mosque of David, from which the prophet told us that he ascended into heaven. He 
gave us a circumstantial account thereof, and especially mentioned the fact that we 
should find on the Sakhrah a quantity of dung which the Christians had thrown there 
out of spite to the children of Israel." It needed no prophetic inspiration to acquaint 
Muhammad with this fact. The site of the Temple was not only well known to the 
Christians, but was systematically defiled by them out of abhorrence for the Jews. 
Eutychius expressly tells us that — "when Helena, the mother of Constantine, had 
built churches at Jerusalem, the site of the rock and its neighborhood had been laid 
waste, and so left. But the Christians heaped dirt upon the rock so that there was a 
large dung hill over it. And so the Romans had neglected it, nor given it that honor 
which the Israelites had been wont to pay it, and had not built a church above is, 
because it had been said by our Lord Jesus Christ in the Holy Gospel, 'Behold, your 
house shall be left unto you desolate.' " With these words he stooped down and began 
to brush off the dung with his sleeve, and his example being followed by the other- 
Mussulmans of the party, they soon cleared all the dung away, and brought the Sakh- 
rah to light. Having done this he forbade them to pray there until three showers of 
rain had fallen upon it. 

Another account relates that upon conquering the city, 'Omar sent for Ka'ab 
and said to him, "Oh, Abu Ishak, dost thou know the site of the Sakhrah?" "Yes,"" 
replied Ka'ab, "it is distant such and such a number of cubits from the wall which 



The Sakhrah 



411 



runs parallel to the Wady Jehennum; it is at the present time used for a dunghill." 
Digging at the spot indicated, they found the Sakhrah as Ka'ab had described. Then 
'Omar asked Ka'ab where he would advise him to place the mosque, (or, as some say, 
"the Kiblah"). Ka'ab answered, ''I should place it behind the Sakhrah, so that the 
two Kiblahs. namely, that of Moses, and that of Muhammad, may be made identical." 
"Ah," said 'Omar, "thou leanest to Jewish notions. I see; the best place for the mosque 
is in front of it." and he built it in front accordingly. 

Another version of this conversation is. that when Ka'ab proposed to set the 
mosque behind the Sakhrah. 'Omar repiwed him. as has just been stated, for his Jew- 




ROCK IN THE MOSQUE OF OMAR CALLED THE SAKHRAH 



ish proclivities, and added, "Nay, but we will place it in the sadr ('breast or forepart') 
for the prophet ordained that the Kiblah of our mosques should be in the forepart. 
I am not ordered," said he, "to turn to the Sakhrah, but to the Ka'abah." Afterwards, 
when 'Omar had completed the conquest of Jerusalem, and cleared away the dirt from 
the Sakhrah, and the Christians had entered into their engagements to pay tribute, 
the Muslims changed the name of the great Christian church from Kaiyamah (Anas- 
tasis). to Kamamah (dung), to remind them of their indecent treatment of the holy 
place, and to further glorify the Sakhrah itself. 

In the year 66 of the Hijrah (A. D. 684), Abd el Melik having succeeded his father 
'Merwan in the Caliphate, turned his attention to building the Kubbet es Sakhrah, 
and constructing the Masjid el Aksa. Some time before this he had, for political rea- 
sons, forbidden people to perform the pilgrimage to Mecca, fearing that they might 



412 



The Kubbet Es Silsileh 



take the side of his rival Zobeir, who was established there ; but as people were begin- 
ning to grumble at this prohibition, he conceived the plan of inducing them to make 
pilgrimages to Jerusalem instead, hoping in this way to quiet the public mind. 

Having determined upon this course he sent circular letters to every part of his 
dominions, couched in the following terms: — 

" Abd el Melik desiring to build a dome over the Holy Rock of Jerusalem, in order 
to shelter the Muslims from the inclemency of the weather, and, moreover, wishing to 
restore the Masjid, requests his subjects to acquaint him with their wishes on the matter, 



V 

I 




MOSQUE OF OMAR— AT THE LEFT THE KUBBET ES SILSILEH 

as he would be very sorry to undertake so important a matter without consulting 
their opinion." 

Letters of approval and congratulation flowed in upon the Caliph from all quar- 
ters, and he accordingly assembled a number of the most skilled artisans, and set 
apart for the proposed work a sum of money equivalent in amount to the whole revenue 
of Egypt for seven years. For the safe custody of this immense treasure he built a 
small dome, the same which exists at the present day to the east of the Kubbet es 
Sakhrah, and is called Kubbet es Silsileh. This little dome he himself designed, and 
personally gave the architect instructions as to its minutest details. When it was 
finished, he was so pleased with the general effect that he ordered the architect to 
build the Kubbet es Sakhrah itself on precisely the same model. 



The Dome of the Rock 



413 



Having completed his treasure house and filled it with wealth, he appointed 
Rija ibn Haiyah el Kendf eontroler thereof, with Yezid ibn Sallam, a native of Jeru- 
salem, as his coadjutor. These two persons were to make all disbursements necessary 
for the works, and were enjoined to expend the entire amount upon them, regulating 
the outlay as occasion might require. They commenced with the erection of the 
Kubbeh, beginning on the east side and finishing on the west, until the whole was com- 
pleted and there was nothing further left for any one to suggest. Similarly in the 
buildings in the forepart of the Masjid. that is, on the south side, they worked from east 
to west, commencing with the wall by which is the Mehd 'Aisa (cradle of Jesus), 
and carrying it on to the spot now known as the Jam'i el Magharibeh. 

On the completion of the work. Rija and Yezid addressed the following letter to 
'Abd el Melik, who was then at Damascus: — 

"In accordance with the orders given by the Commander of the Faithful, the 
building of the Dome of the Rock of Jerusalem ( Kubbeti Sakhrati Bait el Mucaddas) 
and the Masjid el Aksa is now so complete that nothing more can be desired. After 
paying all expenses of the building there still remain in hand a hundred thousand 
dinars of the sum originally deposited with us; this amount the Co mm ander of the 
Faithful will expend in such manner as may seem good to him." 

The Caliph replied that they were at liberty to appropriate the sum to themselves 
in consideration of their services in superintending the financial department of the 
works. The two commissioners, however, declined this proposition, and again offered 
to place it at the Caliph's disposal, with the addition of the ornaments belonging to 
their women and the surplus of their own private property. 'Abd el Melik, on receipt 
of their answer, bade them melt up the money in question, and apply it to the orna- 
mentation of the Kubbeh. This they accordingly did, and the effect was so magni- 
ficent that it was impossible for any one to keep his eyes fixed on the dome, owing to the 
quantity of gold with which it was ornamented. They ihen prepared covering for it 
of felt and leather, which they put upon it in winter time to protect it from the wind 
and rain and snow. Rija and Yezid also surrounded the Sakhrah itself with a latticed 
screen of ebony, and hung brocaded curtains behind the screen between the columns. 

A number of attendants were employed in pounding saffron, and in making per- 
fumed water with which to sprinkle the mosque, as well as in preparing and burning 
incense. Every morning also servants were sent into the Hammam Suleiman (' * Solo- 
mon's bath"), to cleanse it out thoroughly. Having done this they used to go into 
the store-room in which the Khaluk was kept, and changing their clothes for fresh ones 
of various costly stuffs, and putting jewelled girdles round their waists, and taking the 
Khaluk in their hands, they proceeded to dab it all over the Sakhrah as far as they 
could reach; and when they could not reach with their hands they washed their feet 
and stepped upon the Sakhrah itself until they had dabbed it all over, and emptied the 
pots of Khaluk. Then they brought censers of gold and silver filled with "ud (perfumed 
aloes wood) and other costly kinds of incense, with which they perfumed the entire 
place, first letting down the curtains round all the pillars, and walking round them 
until the incense filled the place between them and the dome, and then fastening them 
up again so that the incense escaped and filled the entire building, even penetrating 
into the neighboring bazaar, so that any one who passed that way could smell it. 
After this, proclamation was made in the open market, ''The Sakhrah is now open for 
public worship." and people would run in such crowds to pray in there, that two 



414 



The Kubbet es Sakhrah 



reka'as was as much as most people could accomplish, and it was only very few who 
could succeed in performing four. 

So strongly was the building perfumed with incense, that one who had been into 
it could at once be detected by the odor, and people used to say as they sniffed it, 
"Ah! So-and-so has been in the Sakhrah." So great, too, was the throng, that people 
could not perform their ablutions in the orthodox manner, but were obliged to content 
themselves with washing the soles of their feet with water, and wiping them with 
green sprigs of myrtle, and drying them with their pocket-handkerchiefs. The doors 
were all locked, and ten chamberlains posted at each door, and the mosque was only 
opened twice a week — namely, on Mondays and Fridays; on other days none but the 
attendants were allowed access to the buildings. It is said that in the days of 'Abd 
el Melik a precious pearl, the horn of Abraham's ram, and the crown of Khosroes, 
were attached to the chain which is suspended in the center of the dome, but when the 
Caliphate passed into the hands of Beni Hashem they removed these relics to the Kaabeh. 

Ibn Asakir tells us that there were 6,000 planks of wood in the Masjid used for 
roofing and flooring, exclusive of wooden pillars. It also contained fifty doors, amongst 
which were: — Bab el Cortobi (the gate of the Cordovan), Bab Daud (the gate of David), 
Bab Suleiman (the gate of Solomon), Bab Muhammad (the gate of Muhammad), 
Bab Hettab (the gate of Remission), Bab et Taunah (the gate of Reconciliation), 
where God was reconciled to David after his sin, Bab er Ramheh (the gate of Mercy), 
six gates called Abwab al Asbat (the gates of the tribes), Bab el Walid (the gate of 
Wahd), Bab el Hashimf (the gate of the Hashem Family), Bab el Khidi (the gate of 
St. George or Eliah),and Bab es Sekfnah (the gate of the Shekina). There were also 
doo marble pillars; seven mihrabs (or prayer niches); 385 chains for lamps, of which 
230 were in the Masjid el Aksa, and the rest in the Kubbet es Sakhrah; the accumu- 
lative length of the chains was 4,000 cubits, and their weight 43,000 ratals (Syrian 
measure). There were also 5,000 lamps, in addition to which they used to light 1,000 
wax candles every Friday night, and on the night of the middle of the months Rejeb, 
and Shaban, and Ramadhan, as well as on the nights of the two great festivals. There 
were fifteen domes, exclusive of the Kubbet es Sakhrah; and on the roof of the mosques 
were 7,700 strips of lead, and the weight of each strip was 70 Syrian ratals. This was 
exclusive of the lead which was upon the Kubbet es Sakhrah. 

All the above work was done in the days of 'Abd el Melik ibn Merwan. The same 
prince appointed 300 perpetual attendants to the mosques, slaves purchased with a 
fifth of the revenue, and whenever one of these died there was appointed in his stead 
either his son, grandson, or someone of the family; the office to be hereditary so long as 
the generation lasted. There were four-and-twenty large cisterns in the Masjid, and 
four minarets, three of which last were in a line on the west side of the Masjid, and one 
over the Bab el Asbat. There were also Jewish servants employed in the Masjid, 
and these were exempted on account of their services from payment of the capitation 
tax; originally they were ten in number, but as their families sprung up, increased to 
twenty. Their business was to sweep out the Masjid all the year round, and to clean 
out the lavatories round about it. Besides these, there were ten Christian servants 
also attached to the place in perpetuity, and transmitting the office to their children; 
their business was to brush the mats and to sweep out the conduits and cisterns. A 
number of Jewish servants were also employed in making glass lamps, candelabras, 
&c. these and their families were also exempted in perpetuity from tax, and the same 
privilege was accorded to those who made the lamp wicks. 



The Mosque El Aksa 



415 



The doors of the Mas j id were all covered with plates of gold and silver in the time 
of 'Abd el Melik. but these were stripped off by Abu Jaafar el Mansur, the second 
caliph of the Abbaside dynasty, in A. D. 753, and melted up for coin to repair the east 
and west sides of the Masjid, which had fallen down in the great earthquake of 747 A. D. 

When the second earthquake occurred, and threw down the parts restored by 
Abu Jaafar, his successor, El Mehdi', seeing that the place was going to ruin, and was 
almost deserted by worshippers, determined to rebuild it on a smaller scale. This he 
did by taking a portion both off the length and breadth. El Mehdi ascended the 
throne 7th October, A. D. 775. 

The only inscription of 'Abd el Melik's which now remains in the mosque is the 
great mosaic around the colonnade in the interior; of this I shall give a particular 
account when speaking of Abd Allah Ma'mun, by whom it was altered for the purpose 
of fraudently inserting his own name. 

Abd el Melik died on the 8th Sept., A. D. 705, and was succeeded by his son 
El Walfd. 

Ibn 'Asakir says that the length of the Masjid el Aksa was 755 cubits, and the 
breadth 465 cubits, the standard employed being the royal cubit. 

In the Muthfr el Gharam the author tells us that he saw on the north wall, over 
the door which is behind the Bab el Dowaidariyeh, on the inside of the wall, a stone 
tablet, on which the length of the Masjid was recorded as 784 cubits, and its breadth 
455; it did not, however, state whether the standard employed was the royal cubit, 
or not. The same author informs us that he himself measured the Masjid with a rope, 
and found that in length it was 683 cubits on the east side, and 650 on the west, and 
in breadth it was 438 cubits, exclusive of the breadth of the wall. 

In order to understand the native accounts of the sacred area at Jerusalem, it is 
essentially necessary to keep in mind the proper application of the various names 
by which it is spoken of. When the Masjid el Aksa is mentioned, that name is usually 
supposed to refer to the well-known mosque on the south side of the Haram, but such 
is not really the case. The latter building is called El Jam'i el Aksa, or simply El 
Aksa, and the substructures are called El Aksa el Kadimeh (the ancient Aksa), while 
the title El Masjid el Aksa is applied to the whole sanctuary. The word Jami is exactly 
equivalent in sense to the Greek awayayrj, and is applied only to the church or build- 
ing in which the worshippers congregate. Masjid, on the other hand, is a much more 
general term; it is derived from the verb sejada "to adore," and is applied to any spot, 
the sacred character of which would incite the visitor to an act of devotion. Our word 
mosque is a corruption of masjid, but it is usually misapplied,, as the building is never 
so designated, although the whole area on which it stands may be so spoken of. 

The Kubbet es Sakhrah, El Aksa, Jam'i el Magharibeh, &c, are each called a 
Jami, but the entire Haram is a Masjid. This will explain how it is that 'Omar, after 
visiting the churches of the Anastasis, Sion, &c, was taken to the "Masjid" of Jerusa- 
lem, and will account for the statement of Ibn el 'Asa'kir and others, that the Masjid 
el Aksa measured over 600 cubits in length — that is, the length of the whole Haram 
area. The name Masjid el Aksa is borrowed from the passage in the Koran (xvii. 1), 
where allusion is made to the pretended ascent of Muhammad into heaven from the 
temple of Jerusalem ; ' ' Praise be unto him who transported His servant by night 
from El Masjid el Haram (i.e., 'the Sacred place of Adoration' at Mecca) to El Masjid 
el Aksa (i.e., 'the Remote place of Adoration' at Jerusalem), the precincts of which 
we have blessed," &c. The title El Aksa, "the Remote," according to the Muhamma- 



416 



The Inscription in the Kubbet es Sakhrah 



dan doctors, is applied to the temple of Jerusalem "either because of its distance 
from Mecca, or because it is the centre of the earth." 

The title Haram, or "sanctuary," it enjoys in common with those of Mecca, Me- 
dina and Hebron. 

The erection of the Kubbet es Sakhrah, Jam'i el Aksa, and the restoration of the 
temple area by 'Abd el Melik, are recorded in a magnificent Kufic inscription in mosaic, 
running round the colonnade of the first-mentioned building. The name of 'Abd el 
Melik has been purposely erased, and that of Abdallah el Mamun fraudulently substi- 
tuted; but the shortsighted forger has omitted to erase the date, as well as the name 
of the original founder, and the inscription still remains a contemporary record of 
the munificence of 'Abd el Melik. The translation is as follows: — 

"In the name of God, the Merciful, the Compassionate! There is no god but God 
alone ; He hath no partner; His is the kingdom, His the praise. He giveth life and death, 
for He is the Almighty. In the name of God, the Merciful, the Compassionate! There 
is no god but God alone; He hath no partner; Muhammad is the apostle of God; pray 
God for him. The servant of God 'Abdallah, the Imam el Mamun [read 'Abd el 
Melikj, Commander of the Faithful, built this dome in the year 72 (A. D. 691). May 
God accept it at his hands, and be content with him, Amen! The restoration is com- 
plete, and to God be the praise. In the name of God, the Merciful, the Compassionate! 
There is no god but God alone ; He hath no partner. Say He is the one God, the Eter- 
nal; He neither begetteth nor is begotten, and there is no one like Him. Muhammad 
is the apostle of God; pray God for Him. In the name of God, the Merciful, the Com- 
passionate! There is no god but God, and Muhammad is the apostle of God; pray 
God for him. Verily, God and His angels pray for the Prophet. Oh, ye who believe, 
pray for him, and salute ye him with salutations of peace. In the name of God, the 
Meixiful, the Compassionate! There is no god but God alone; to Him be praise, who 
taketh not unto Himself a son, and to whom none can be a partner in His kingdom, 
and whose patron no lower creature can be; magnify ye Him. Muhammad is the 
Apostle of God; pray God, and His angels, and apostles for him; and peace be upon 
him, and the mercy of God. In the name of God, the Merciful, the Compassionate! 
There is no god but God alone; He hath no partner; His is the kingdom, and His the 
praise; He giveth life and death, for He is Almighty. Verily, God and His angels 
pray for the Prophet. Oh ye who believe; pray for him, and salute him with salu- 
tations of peace. Oh! ye who have received the Scriptures, exceed not the bounds in 
your religion, and speak not aught but truth concerning God. Verily Jesus Christ, 
the son of Mary, is the Apostle of God, and His word which He cast over Mary, and a 
spirit from Him. Then believe in God and His apostles, and do not say there are 
three Gods ; forbear, and it will be better for you. God is but One. Far be it from Him 
that He should have a son. To Him belongeth whatsoever is in the heaven and in the 
earth, and God is a sufficient protector. Christ doth not disdain to be a servant of 
God, nor do the angels who are near the throne. Whosoever then disdains His service, 
and is puffed up with pride, God shall gather them all at the last day. O God, pray 
for Thy apostle Jesus, the son of Mary; peace be upon me the day I was born, and the 
day I die, and the day I am raised to life again. That is Jesus, the son of Mary, con- 
cerning whom ye doubt. It is not for God to take unto Himself a son; far be is from 
Him. If He decree a thing, He doth but say unto it, Be, and it is. God is my Lord 
and yours. Serve Him, this is the right way. Glory to God, there is no god but Him , 
and the angels, and being endowed with knowledge, stand among the just. There is 



Syria under the Muslims 417 

no God but Him, the Mighty, the Wise. Verily, the true religion in the sight of God 
is Islam. Say praise be to God, who taketh not unto Himself a son; whose partner in 
the kingdom none can be; whose patron no lowly creature can be. Magnify ye Him!" 

'Abd el Melik died on the 8th of September, 705 A. D., and was succeeded by 
his son Walfd. During that prince's reign the eastern portion of the Masjid fell into 
ruins ; and as there were no funds in the treasury available for the purpose of restoring 
it, Walfd ordered the requisite amount to be levied from his subjects. 

On the death of Walfd, the caliphate passed into the hands of his brother Suleiman, 
who was at Jerusalem when the messengers came to him to announce his accession 
to the throne. 

He received them in the Masjid itself, sitting in one of the domes in the open court 
—probably m that now called Kubbet Suleiman, which is behind the Kubbet es Sakhrah, 
near the Bab ed Duweidanyeh. He died at Jerusalem, after a short reign of three 
years, and was succeeded (A. D. 717) by 'Omar ibn Abd el 'Agiz, surnamed El Mehdi. 
It is related that this prince dismissed the Jews who had been hitherto employed in 
lighting up the sanctuary, and put in their places some of the slaves before-mentioned 
as having been purchased by 'Abd el Melik, at the price of a fifth of the treasury (El 
Khums). One of these last came to the Caliph, and begged him to emancipate him. 

"I have no power to do so," replied 'Omar. "But look you, if you choose to go 
of your own accord, I claim no right over a single hair of your head." 

In the reign of the second 'Abbasside caliph, Abn Jaafer Mansur (A. D. 755), a 
severe earthquake shook Jerusalem; and the southern portion of the Haram es Sherif 
standing as it did upon an artificially- raised platform, suffered most severely from the 
shock. In order to meet the expense of repairing the breaches thus made, the Caliph 
ordered the gold and silver plates, with which the munificence of 'Abd el Melik had 
covered the doors of the Masjid, to be stripped off, converted into coin, and applied 
to the l-estoration of the edifice. The part restored was not, however, destined to last 
long; for during the reign of El Mehdi, his son and successor, the mosque had again 
fallen into ruins, and was rebuilt by the Caliph upon a different plan, the width being 
increased at the expense of the length. 

The foundation, by the Caliph Mansur, of the imperial city of Baghdad, upon the 
banks of the Tigris, and the removal of the government from Damascus thither, was 
very prejudicial to the interests of the Christian population of Syria, who were now 
treated with great harshness, deprived of the privileges granted them by former mon- 
archs, and subjected to every form of extortion and persecution. 

In 786 the celebrated Harun er Rashid, familiar to us as the hero of the "Arabian 
Nights," succeeded his father, El Hadf, in the caliphate. 

This prince was illustrious alike for his military successes, and his munificent 
patronage of learning and science ; and although his glory is sullied by one act of bar- 
barity and jealous meanness — the murder of his friend and minister, Jaafa el Barmaki, 
and the whole of the Barmecide family — he seems to have well merited his title of 
Er Rashid, "the Orthodox," or "Upright." 

The cordial relations between the East and West brought about by his alliance 
with the Emperor Charlemagne, were productive of much good to the Christian com- 
munity in Syria and Palestine, and more especially in Jerusalem, where churches were 
restored, and hospices and other charitable institutions founded, by the munificence 
of the Frank emperor. 



418 



Arabic Culture 



In the year 796 new and unexpected troubles came upon Palestine. A civil war 
broke out between two of the border-tribes — the Beni Yoktan and the Ismaelujeh, — 
and the country was devastated by hordes of savage Bedawm. The towns and vil- 
lages of the west were sacked, the roads were rendered impassable by hostile bands, 
and those places which had not actually suffered from the incursions of the barbarians 
were reduced to a state of protracted siege. Even Jerusalem itself was threatened, 
and, but for the bravery of its garrison, would have again been pillaged and destroyed. 
The monasteries in the Jordan valley experienced the brunt of the Arabs' attack, 
and one after another was sacked; and, last of all, that of Mar Saba — which, from its 
position, had hitherto been deemed impregnable — succumbed to a blockade, and many 
of the inmates perished. 

On the death of Harim, his three sons contended fiercely for the throne; the Mus- 
sulman empire was again involved in civil dissensions, and Palestine, as usual, suffered 
most severely in the wars. The churches and monasteries in and around Jerusalem 
were again laid waste, and the great mass of the Christian population obliged to seek 
safety in flight. 

El Mamun having at last triumphed over his brothers, and established himself 
firmly in the caliphate, applied his energies with great ardor to the cultivation of liter- 
ature, art, and science. It was at his expense, and by his orders, that the works of 
the Greek philosophers were translated into the Arabic language by 'Abd el Messiah 
el Kendf, who, although a Christian by birth and profession, enjoyed a great reputation 
at the Court of Baghdad, where he was honored with the title of Feilsuf el Islam — 
"The Philosopher of Muhammadanism." 

Since their establishment on the banks of the Tigris, the Abbasside caliphs had 
departed widely from the ancient traditions of their race; and the warlike ardor and 
stern simplicity which had won so vast an empire for 'Omar and his contemporaries, 
presently gave away to effeminate luxury and useless extravagance. But although 
this change was gradually undermining their power, and tending to the physical de- 
generacy of the race, it was not unproductive of good; and the immense riches and care- 
less liberality of the caliphs attracted to the Court of Baghdad the learned men of the 
Eastern world. The Arabs were not inventive; but they were eminently an ac- 
quisitive people, and, 

"Grsecia capta ferum victorem cepit." 
The nations conquered by their arms were made to yield up intellectual as well as ma- 
terial spoils. They had neither art, literature, nor science of themselves, and yet 
we are indebted to them for all three ; for what others produced and neglected, they 
seized upon, and made their own. Born in the black, shapeless "tents of Shem," 
and nursed amidst monotonous scenery, the Arabs could conceive no grander struct- 
ure than the massive tetragonal Kadbeh; but Persia was made to supply them with 
the graceful forms and harmonious colors suggested by the flower-gardens of Iran. 
The art of painting, cultivated with so much success in Persia, even at the present day, 
found but little favor with the iconoclast followers of Muhammad; but its influence is 
seen in the perfection to which mural decoration, writing, and illumination have been 
brought by the professors of Islam. Caligraphy has been cultivated in the East to 
an extent which can be scarcely conceived in this country; and the rules which govern 
that science are, though more precise, founded on aesthetic principles as correct as those 
of fine-art criticism here. 



The Kubbet es-Sakhrah 



419 



A people whose hereditary occupation was war and plunder, and who looked upon 
commerce as a degrading and slavish pursuit, were not likely to make much progress, 
even in simple arithmetic ; yet when it was no longer a mere question of dividing the 
spoils of a caravan, but of administering the revenues and regulating the frontiers 
of conquered countries, then the Saracens both appreciated and employed the exact 
mathematical sciences of India. 

"The Arabs' registers are the verses of their bards," was the motto of their Beda- 
wm forefathers, but the rude lays of border-warfare and pastoral life were soon found 
unsuited to their more refined ideas; while even the cultivation of their own rich and 
complex language was insufficient to satisfy their literary taste and craving for intel- 
lectual exercise. Persia therefore was again called in to their aid, and the rich treasures 
of historical and legendary lore were ransacked and laid bare, while, later on, the phi- 
losophy and speculative science of the Greeks were eagerly sought after and studied. 

Jerusalem also profited by Mamun's peaceful rule and aesthetic tastes, and the 
Haram buildings were thoroughly restored. So completely was this done that the 
Masjid may be almost said to owe its present existence to El Mamun ; for had it not been 
for his care and munificence, it must have fallen into irreparable decay. We have 
already mentioned the substitution of El Mamun's name for that of the original foun- 
der, 'Abd el Melik, in the mosaic inscription upon the colonnade of the Kubbet es 
Sakhrah; inscriptions, implying the same wilful misstatements of facts, are found upon 
large copper plates fastened over the doors of the last-named building. Upon these 
we read, after the usual pious invocations and texts, the following words: "Con- 
structed by order of the servant of God, 'Abdallah el Mamun, Commander of the 
Faithful, whose life may God prolong! during the government of the brother of the 
Commander of the Faithful, Er Rashid, whom God preserve! Executed by Saleh ibn 
Yahyah, one of the slaves of the Commander of the Faithful, in the month of Rabi el 
Akhir, in the year 216." (May, A. D. 831.) It is inconceivable that so liberal and 
intellectual a prince should have sanctioned such an arrogant and transparent fiction ; 
and we can only attribute the mis-statement to the servile adulation of the officials 
entrusted with the carrying out of the restoration. 

At the northeast angle of the esplanade a rock scarp marks the site of the famous 
Tower Antonia. The temple hill is bounded on the west by the valley called by Jo- 
sephus Tyropceon. It is now nearly filled up. Pere Germer-Durand believes that 
this was the ancient Hinnom; but the greater number of Palestinographers place 
Hinnom in the southeastern continuation of the Wady er-Rababi. 

In 1099 the Crusaders took the Mosque and massacred all the Muslims who 
had fled thither. They converted the Mosque into a church which they called "Tern- 
plum Domini." They placed the high altar upon the rock in the centre which appears 
now bare. The present railing around this is their work. 

In 1 187 the victory of Salah ed-Din made the Muslims again masters of the 
Mosque. They purified it by rose-water which the sister of Salah ed-Din brought 
from Aleppo on the backs of twenty camels. The beautiful mosaics date from the 
same time. The Mosque is a chef d'ceuvre of elegance and Oriental magnificence. 
By the juxtaposition of pieces of colored glass they have produced the effect of fine 
stained glass windows. 

The exterior is covered with plates of blue fayence whose effect is less agreeable. 
Before the east gate of the Mosque is a small polygonal edifice supported by several 
concentric rows of columns. This is the Tribunal of David, where the soul's sins and 



420 



The So-called Stables of Solomon 



merits are weighed. They fable that an invisible chain comes down from Heaven by 
which souls ascend hence to Heaven. For that reason it is called Kubbet el-Silsileh, 
"the cupola of the chain. " A smaller octagonal structure at the southwest of the Mosque 
of Omar is consecrated to the nocturnal ascensions of Muhammad to Heaven. 

The area round about the Mosque is open, and here the Muslims love to assemble 
and read the Koran and pray. 

By stamping on the 'pavement of the cave under the rock Sakhrah, one perceives 
by the hollow sound that there is a cavity underneath. It has not been explored. 
It is probably a conduit made to carry off the blood of the victims in the Jewish temple. 




MOSQUE OF OMAR— DETAILS OF INTERIOR OF DOME 



Under the great stone pavement in front of the Mosque of El Aksa is a great cis- 
tern which receives the waters from the Pools of Solomon. 

Here we descended also into the great subterranean galleries falsely called the 
Stables of Solomon. They were cleaned out in 1892. They extend under the south- 
east angle of the present Haram enclosure. One sees there the immense stones of the 
old temple wall. There are 13 great aisles formed by 12 parallel rows of rectangular 
pillars, 88 in all. The height is not uniform; some of the pillars are over 25 feet high. 
The masonry is massive. This massive substructure supports the southern portion' 
of the temple area. Its origin is a subject of great difference of opinion. The legend 
which connects it with Solomon is discarded. Some believe that Herod built it to en- 



Justinian's Church 



421 



large the temple place, when he enlarged it; others attribute it to Justinian. This 
seems the more probable opinion. In describing the Church of St. Mary which Jus- 
tinian built at Jerusalem, Procopius clearly states that Justinian built these great 
substructures: 

"At Jerusalem he built a church in honour of the Virgin, to which no other can be 
compared. The inhabitants call it the 'new church.' I shall describe what it is like, 
prefacing my account by the remark that this city stands for the most part upon hilly 
ground, which hills are not formed of earth, but are rough and precipitous, so as to 
make the paths up and down them as steep as ladders. All the rest of the buildings 




THE UNDERGROUND CONSTRUCTION VULGARLY CALLED SOLOMON'S STABLES 

in the city stand in one place, being either built upon the hills, or upon flat and open 
ground ; but this church alone stands in a different position ; for the Emperor Justinian 
ordered it to be built upon the highest of the hills, explaining of what size he wished it 
to be, both in width and in length. The hill was not of sufficient size to enable the 
work to be carried out according to the Emperor's orders, but a fourth part of the 
church, that towards the south wind and the rising sun, in which the priests perform 
the sacred mysteries, was left with no ground upon which to rest. Accordingly those 
m charge of this work devised the following expedient: they laid foundations at the 
extremity of the flat ground, and constructed a building rising to the same height as 
the hill. When it reached the summit, they placed vaults upon the walls and joined 



422 



El Aksa 



this building to the other foundations of the church; so that this church in one place 
is built upon a firm rock, and in another place is suspended in the air — for the power 
of the Emperor has added another portion to the (original) hill. The stones of this 
substruction are not of the size of those which we are accustomed to see: for the builders 
of this work, having to contend with the nature of the ground, and being forced to raise 
a building equal in size to a mountain, scorned the ordinary practices of building, 
and betook themselves to strange and altogether unknown methods. They cut blocks 
of stones of enormous size out of the mountains which rise to vast heights in the 
neighborhood of the city, cunningly squared them, and brought them thither in the 
following manner: they built wagons of the same size as these stones, and placed one 
stone upon each wagon. These wagons were dragged by picked oxen, chosen by the 
Emperor, forty of them dragging each wagon with its stone. Since it was impossible 
for the roads leading into the city to take these wagons upon them, they made a pas- 
sage for them by cutting deeply into the mountains, and thus formed the church of 
the great length which it was the Emperor's pleasure that it should have. After they 
had built it of a proportional width they were not able to put a roof upon it. While 
they were inspecting every grove and place which they heard was planted with tall 
trees, they discovered a thick wood, producing cedars of enormous height, Avith Avhich 
they made the roof of the church, of a height proportional to its length and width." 

The Crusaders employed these vast subterranean colonnades as stables. We saw 
there the holes in the pillars where they attached their horses, and the stone troughs. 
The arches that rest on these great pillars have often been repaired since the days 
of Justinian. The Emperor Justinian also built a sanctuary on the presumed site 
of the golden gate through which the Lord entered on Palm Sunday. Here was a 
two aisled church through the middle of which ran a row of three marble columns. 
The Crusaders kept this gate closed except for the procession of Palm Sunday. The 
Muslims have walled it up, as they have a tradition that the day that this gate is opened 
the Franks will enter the city. 

In May 1871, M. Clermont-Ganneau found one of the tablets which were placed 
in the Herodian temple forbidding strangers to go into the sacred enclosure. 

The tablet bears an inscription in monumental Greek characters thus: "No stran- 
ger is to enter within the balustrade round the temple and enclosure. Whoever is caught 
will be responsible to himself for his death which will ensue." This confirms the 
statement of Josephus. 

The Mosque El-Aksa stands at the southern extremity of the temple area. The 
name El-Aksa means 'the remote.' Some assign as the origin of the name that at the 
time when the church of Justinian was converted into a mosque, it was the farthest 
removed from Mecca. It is probable that the great church of Justinian, called the 
Church of the Presentation, was torn down and its material used to build the present 
mosque which has no definite architectural plan. Arculphus who saw this mosque 
in 670 declares that it was built out of the ruins of Justinian's church; and that it could 
contain 3000 persons. It was destroyed by an earthquake in 770, and rebuilt by 
El Mehdi, who ascended the throne in 775. 

In its present form El Aksa is an immense edifice with seven aisles with a transept. 
Its length is 300 feet; its breadth 200 feet. 

The Crusaders made it a royal palace, and called it the Palace of Solomon. The 
celebrated order of the Templars were founded here in 1 1 18 by Hugh of Payens and his 
eight companions. 



A Conference at St. Etienne 



423 



February 15th. — Mass at 6.15 at the altar of Calvary in the Church of the Holy 
Sepulchre. The morning is fair; temperature at 6 a. m. 41 Fahrenheit. 

Last evening the booming of cannon between six and seven announced the begin- 
ning of the Muslim feast of Zou el-Hidggiath, the feast of the Sacrifice. This morning 
at five the cannons began again to boom. The feast will continue to-day and until 
to-morrow morning. The principal feature is the killing of some lambs as victims. 

At 3-3° P- m - we had a conference on the Parables of Jesus Christ. This conference 
was delivered by Pere Olivier 0. P. It had been stated that he was one of the fore- 
most preachers of France, and I went to the conference with a happy anticipation. 




INTERIOR OF EL AKSA AT JERUSALEM 



He prefaced his conference by the declaration that he had committed a great error 
in accepting the invitation of Pere Lagrange to deliver the conference. At the close 
of the conference I was well persuaded that this was the only sound statement made 
by the preacher. 

He proposed at the outset to limit his remarks to one parable, and he chose the 
Parable of the mmas (Luke xix. 12-27). In his analysis the nobleman was Archelaus. 
The far country was Rome whither Archelaus went to seek from Nero the supreme 
power. The servants to whom were given the minas were the stewards of Archelaus 
entrusted with his affairs in his absence. The men who sent the delegation after him 
were rebels among the Jews. 



424 



GlBEOX 



Archelaus was denounced before Caesar, but Caesar still consented to give him the 
tetrarchy of Judaea. His ambition had desired more power, and therefore he returns 
in bad humor. He manifests first his avarice in demanding what money his stewards 
had made for him. He rewards them by giving them the revenues of certain cities. 
He then manifests his cruelty by putting to death the rebels. 

This the preacher represented as the historical sense of the parable; and then on 
this mangled, distorted wreck of the Holy Scriptures he tried to graft some lame moral 
reflections. Is it any wonder that France dismissed this man from the pulpit of 
Notre Dame? The discourse was enlivened by French wit; and the French audience 
laughed as though they had been in a comic theatre. I must testify my respect for 
the Russian Consul and a few other members of the invited guests who refrained from 
undignified laughter at the undignified wit of the preacher. 

I am convinced that one of the great causes why faith has died out of Frenchmens' 
hearts is the method of preaching in vogue in France. There is no solidity in it. 
It is a product of the French spirit, light, superficial, witty, imaginative. 

The temperature at 9 p. m. is 47 Fahrenheit. 

February 16th. — Mass at 5.30 a. m. at St. Etienne. The morning is fair; tem- 
perature 43 Fahrenheit. At 7 a. m. we mounted horses, and set out for a day's ex- 
cursion through the historic land. We first went directly north to Tell el-Ful. There 
is nothing here but a few inconsiderable ruins of Arabic origin. It is. on a slight emi- 
nence. 

We soon left the main road of Nabulus, and turned to the left by the ancient 
Roman road. This Roman road resembles the rocky bed of a dried-up mountain tor- 
rent. Through centuries during the rainy season the water takes its course down the 
way of this road. All round about us was desolation, the lonely desert of mountains 
of rocks. The only people we met were some men bringing some cut trunks and roots 
of trees on the backs of camels and asses to Jerusalem for fuel. 

We soon left the ancient Roman 'road and struck off to the left, towards the north- 
west; and ascended the steep mountain side to El Jib, the ancient Gibeon. 

El Jib, the modern village, occupies the north end of a detached hill some 200 
feet high, surrounded by broad flat corn valleys on every side. The inhabitants state 
that the old city stood on the south part of the hill, and here in the sides of the natural 
scarps which fortify the site there are some 20 rock-cut tombs. There are eight springs 
on the hill, the largest being one of the finest supplies of water in this part 
of Palestine. One of the springs is called el Birkeh, and flows out into a rock-cut 
tank measuring 1 1 feet by 7 feet, the water issuing from a small cave. This place is 
south-west of the village, and close to the main east and west road through Gibeon. 
The pool is cut in the face of a cliff, and has a wall of rock about 3^ feet high on the 
west. Above it grows a pomegranate tree, and near it are ancient tombs in the cliff. 

The reader will remember the dramatic account of the meeting between Joab 
with David's followers, and Abner with the clansmen of the house of Saul (2 Sam. 
ii. 13) ; how they sat one on one side, the other on the other at "the pool in Gibeon," 
and arranged the fatal duel between the young men whe were bid to "arise, and play 
before us." 

Its natural situation was most favorable for defense. It is on the top of a moun- 
tain to which the ascent on all sides is abrupt. The present village consists of a small 
number of wretched hovels of stone, mud, and straw and mud thatch. The population 
is of Muslims, and they are in a wretched state of poverty, ignorance, and dirt. 



Xebi-Samouil 



425 



From this point we turned south-west to Nebi-Samouil. The road is very diffi- 
cult. It descends from the height of El Jib into a valley, and again ascends an abrupt 
mountain side to Nebi-Samouil. For the descent of El Jib we were obliged to dismount 
and lead our horses. The path descended over ledges of slippery rocks, where the 
practised Arab horses leaped from rock to rock like goats. 

We- reached Nebi-Samouil a little before ten o'clock. 

The identification of Nebi-Samouil is uncertain. Some believe it to be the ancient 
Mizpeh. The Crusaders held it as Shilo. The present name Nebi Samouil "the Pro- 
phet Samuel/' is derived from the tradition that here is the tomb of Samuel. The 




MIZPEH WITH MOSQUE NEBI-SAMOUIL3 

Crusaders built here a church to honor the memory of Samuel. The Turks converted 
the ruins of the church into a mosque. The ruins of the Church of the Crusades may 
be plainly traced in the mosque. 

In a small room at the side is a tomb in the form of a catafalque, covered with a 
black pall.. This is held by the Muslims to be the tomb of Samuel. It is plainly visi- 
ble from the main mosque through an iron grating. The iron bars of this grating 
are covered several thicknesses deep with shreds of cloth tied to the bars. These are 
the Muslim votive offerings placed here as preventatives against disease. 

The mosque contains nothing worthy of note. 

T\ e ascended the minaret by a stone spiral staircase to the circular balconv whence 
the Mu'ezzin issues his call to prayer. The view from this point is important. 



426 



From Nebi-Samouil to Kubeibeh 



"At one's feet are deep rugged valleys more or less clad with brushwood, and olive 
groves strongly contrasting with the white lines of upheaved limestone which gleam like 
the skeleton ribs of a dead cultivation. Beyond, softened by distance, lies the great 
maritime plain, here a vivid green, denoting a tract of young wheat, there a fallow of 
rich red soil bordered by a sombre mass of olive-trees, rendered still blacker by the 
shadow of a passing cloud, while a gleam of sunshine shows off the white houses ofi 
Lydd and Ramleh and the fine tower of the "White Mosque" against the setting of 
gloomy trees. Far bevond these a thread of golden sand divides the emerald of the 




iMOSQUE NEBI-SAMOUIL 



plain from the turquoisefof the sea.|f A rounded mass of white, in shape like an exag- 
gerated molehill, glistens at the north end of the sand dunes. This we recognise as 
Jaffa; beyond lies the sea, flecked here and there with a tiny white speck, the sail of 
some coasting trader. Nearer beneath us, in the "Shephelah" and lower slopes of 
the main range, nestle countless villages." 

The descent of the mountain of Nebi-Samouil was somewhat less difficult. We rode 
westward and slightly northward passing by Biddu, whence the Crusaders who came 
down from the north had the first sight of Jerusalem. In about an hour from Nebi 
Samouil we reached the Franciscan Hospice at Kubeibeh. We were received here with 
generous hospitality by the Franciscan brother. 



From Caphr-Keffre to Jerusalem 



427 



While dinner was being prepared we visited the Church. It is a beautiful church 
built on the ruins of the Church of the Crusaders. A large portion of the apse and the 
bases of the two front pillars are of the original Church of the Crusaders. The restora- 
tion of the church is an essay to produce the original church, and it has been well exe- 
cuted. Some have striven to find traces of a Byzantine church under the ruins of 
the Crusaders' Church; but from a close scrutiny of all the ruins, we were convinced 
that there is nothing in the ruins to base a belief that a Byzantine church was here 
erected. 

A curious feature of the church is the remains of an ancient wall, which is left 
visible in the pavement of the church. It extends perhaps thirty feet along the line . 
of the pillars of the Gospel side of the main nave. It rises only a few inches above the 
level of the pavement. The Franciscan tradition is that this was a part of the wall 
of the house of Cleophas. and that it was incorporated into the Church of the Crusaders. 
This tradition has little foundation. The ruin evidently represents some small struct- 
ure of Arabic origin built upon the ruins of the Church of the Crusaders. 

In matter of distance El-Kubeibeh could be identified with the Emmaus of Luke ; 
but no ancient tradition supports its claim. 

From Kubeibeh we rode directly westward 
through the fields, over the rocks, and up the 
steep side of the mountain of Caphr-Keffre. 
This is the ancient Chephirah of Joshua. 

Nothing is found on the top of the mountain 
save a few ruins of the ancient wall. The view 
to the westward is very interesting. Ramleh, 
Lvdda, Jaffa, and the Mediterranean are plainly 
visible. The great plain of Sharon, at this 
season verdant, appears in pleasing contrast 
to the rocks of the Mountains of Judaea. 

The village of Caphr-Keffre is built down at the foot of the mountain close to an 
abundant source of water which flows from the rocks, and forms a little cascade right 
in the village. 

The village is small and wretched. The low mud hovels are huddled together, 
leaving onlv narrow dirtv passages between them. It is everywhere the same; 
ignorance, dirt, poverty, and degradation. 

We watered our horses and drank at the cascade, and then set out eastward over 
the mountains towards Jerusalem. 

The descent of the steep side of Keftre was most difficult. We dismounted and 
led our horses, leaping from crag to crag in a zigzag route. The way from the bed 
of the vallev to Jerusalem led over the mountains, and through valleys: a difficult 
route, but less difficult than that over which we had previously traveled. 

Xo objects of any considerable special interest are found in this route, though 
of course, historical memories attach to all the land. 

Some miles north-west of Jerusalem we struck the main carriage-road between 
Jaffa and Jerusalem, and thereby entered Jerusalem at 7 p. m. 

It was a dav of sunshine up to the middle of the afternoon. Then the heavens 
became overcast, and a few drops of rain fell. A remarkable fall in temperature took 
place, but there was no further rain. 




428 



Kafr Silwan 



At 9 p. m. the temperature is 43 . 

February 17th. — Mass at 6 a. m. at the chapel of the Sceurs Reparatrices. 
The temperature at 6 a. m. is 44 . 

The day has remained cool and cloudy. At 4.15 p. m. we went down through the 
Kidron valley to Siloah, in Arabic Kafr-Silwan. The village is built into the crags, 
ledges, and caverns of the rocks. Many ancient rock-tombs have been converted 
into dwellings. There is no order in the disposition of the houses. Wherever a hole 
in the rocks is found, there a human habitation is fixed. Thus the habitations rise one 
above the other on the successive ledges of the rock. Often the ascent from one 




VILLAGE OF SILOAH 



habitation to the one above is by means of a succession of steps cut into the abrupt 
face of the rock. It is curious to see the children of very tender age clamber up these 
rude steps, as one would ascend the rocks to an eagle's nest. 

There is no street in the village, nothing but these paths over the rocks. The 
filth of the village is frightful; the ignorance and degradation apalling. 

We climbed successively upon several ledges, whence we looked down into the 
dwellings. The narrow openings in front of the dwellings were like a barnyard. 
Forth from the low entrances of the ancient tombs, and from the wretched hovels 
issued men, women, and children, cows, sheep, and goats. Many dogs howled upon 
the terraces. 



The Russian Pilgrims 



429 



M. Clermont- Ganneau has identified the rock of the modern village of Silwan 
with the rock Zoheleth mentioned in I. (Vulg. III.) Kings I. 9. This would identify 
the Virgin's Fount with the fount En Rogel. Clermont-Ganneau discovered at Sil- 
wan a tradition that a Colony came over from Moab in the days of King Mesha, and 
settled at Silwan. 

In 1890 Schick found that some of the rock-cut tombs of Silwan had been used as 
chapels by the Christians. In one of them he found a Greek inscription placing there 
the tomb of the prophet Isaiah. 

At the northern border of the village is the so-called Tomb of Pharaoh's daughter. 
It belongs to the Russians and is enclosed by a wall. One of the Arabs of the village 
has the key. We entered and first observed at the base of the southern wall of rock 
of the tomb remains of an ancient stucco work exactly like that found at the Church 
of St. Anne. All agree that the architecture of this tomb is Egyptian. It was probably 
used as a hermitage by the Christians of the fourth and fifth centuries. These cut away 
a portion of the rock. 

In the perpendicular hewn wall of rock about ten feet from the present level of 
the earth is a slit in the rock about 6 \ feet high by 18 inches wide. I procured a ladder 
and ascended through the slit in the rock into a square chamber about 12 feet square, 
and seven feet high. In the northern wall are three oven-shaped graves. In 
the southern wall three similar oven-shaped graves were originally executed; but later 
the rock has been cut away outside the tomb, so that only a wall of rock about 18 inches 
thick is left on the southern side. In thus cutting away the rock, men cut directly 
through these oven-shaped graves, to that they are now merely holes in the wall of rock. 

The eastern wall of the room is sunk into the wall of rock several inches, leaving 
a narrow border, and is arched overhead. There are niches all about for the lamps as 
is found in all the Jewish rock-graves. 

At 9 p. m. the temperature is 41 Fahrenheit. 

February 18th. — Mass at St. Etienne at 6 a. m. It rained during the night, 
but the morning is clear; temperature at 6 a. m., 39 Fahrenheit. 

In the afternoon a little excitement was caused by an altercation at the gate of 
the convent. Three times a week from forty to sixty Muslim beggars come to the 
convent for bread. They sit on the ground in a line inside the gate, and a large piece 
of bread is given to every one. To-day six Jews passed by while the beggars were thus 
sitting. They first insulted the beggars, and then turned their insults upon the porter 
of the convent who is a Muslim negro. The negro forcibly resented the insult, and 
then they began to beat him. Had not some of the Dominicans run to the scene, 
they probably would have killed the negro. A member of the Turkish police was sum- 
moned, and the names of the Jews were taken. What will come of it, one can not tell. 
Turkish justice is sold to the highest bidder. 

At 3.30 p. m. we visited the Russian Church in the Jaffa suburb. It is situated 
in a large park beautifully laid out and planted with flowers and trees. Here is also a 
large Russian Hospice. 

The church like all Russian and Greek churches is interiorly almost covered by 
images of the Lord and the saints. 

The evening service was being celebrated, and the church was filled with Russian 
pilgrims. The combined Roman Catholic and Protestant pilgrims who come to Jeru- 
salem are but a handful compared to the Russian pilgrims who come hither. These 
Russians are of the poorer classes, and are very devout. They are poorly clad. The 



430 



Solomon's Pools 



greater number are women past middle life. Their heads are wrapped in coarse 
dirty shawls. Their gowns are of the coarsest material and of the simplest fashion. 
The most of them have great coarse boots on their feet, like those worn by lumbermen 
in our country. The men are still more meanly clad. Their principal garment is a 
long heavy coat of coarsest homespun. Often in going from sanctuary to sanctuary 
they walk over the sharp stones barefooted. They are an inoffensive, simple folk. 
They are oblivious of everything save their devotions. They are well mannered towards 
all. If one enters their church he is certain of courteous treatment from the people. 
Their piety is remarkable. I stood in their church for more than half an hour and ob- 
served their devotions. The whole mass of people was standing. The priests were chant- 
ing the liturgy at the altar. Successively like the billows of the sea the multitude 
prostrated themselves, kissed the pavement, and made the sign of the cross. It was 
thus a continual undulating motion, as some fell prostrate while others rose. The sign 

of the cross always accompanies the prostration. 

This act of prostration as an act of worship 
of God is very common in the East. It is an 
essential of Islam, and even those of the Latin 
rite here prostrate themselves, and kiss the 
earth at the sanctuaries. 

The fervor of the Russian pilgrims is in 
striking contrast to the haughty, unbelieving, 
immoral, hypocritical priests of the Greek rite. 
These conscienceless priests abuse the simple 
piety of these pilgrims to filch from them their 
money. For these strong statements I have 
the authority of religious men of unquestion- 
able integrity who have lived here many 
years. I cite especially Mgr. Abi-Mourad the 
Greek auxiliary patriarch of Jerusalem and 
Rev. Pere Antoine Delpuch of the Greek 
College of St. Anne. 

The temperature at 9:00 p. m. is 39 
convent at the sealed fountain Fahrenheit 

February 19th. — Mass at 8:00 a. m. at the chapel of the Sceurs Reparatrices. The 
morning is fair; temperature at 6:00 a. m. 40 Fahrenheit. 

We dined with Lavigerie's White Fathers to-day, and were happy with them. 
At 5:00 p. m. a heavy rain began to fall. It continued for over an hour, and then the 
sky cleared. 

February 20th. — Mass at 5:00 a. m. at St. Etienne. We left Jerusalem at 7:20 
a. m. going out by the Bethlehem road. Our baggage was loaded on nine mules, and 
we were attended by twelve Arab mukari. 

The country beyond Bethlehem is a desert of rock. A good road connects Jerusa- 
lem and Hebron. An hour's ride beyond Bethlehem brought us to the Pools of Solo- 
mon, three in number one above the other. They were dry at the time of our visit. 
Their ancient water supply was the rain water collected from the mountain sides and 
also the waters of a fount, Ain Saleh, which has been fabled to be the "Sealed Fountain" 
of the Canticle of Canticles. Farther to the east is the Wady Urtas, in like man- 
ner called the "Enclosed Garden" of the same sacred poem. Nothing is more 




Solomon's Pools 4g , 

"^^^^^^^ no dehmte g J en 
Spanish American nuns Wp f„ !f heroine. Nevertheless some 

t£s stupid U™^^^^* h - e; d °r eSS « behef m 
Jerusalem f the Sealed Fo ^tam" are now conducted to 

bedottler^^^rtlTjfon ^ ^ excavated in the rocky 

of the aqueducts .eaig f o m t h „ anTt^ ™ ^ ??» *" ,aM » «« 

are so arranged that the hnrto , [ 7 P resum ably ° f the same date. Thev 

below it, the° object bet. o rfiett" ^ " ^ *" *° P ° f tha ° ae 

dimensions are as folio"- P *' * ° f "- ater as P *^- Their 

Upper Pool. 

Length Feet - 

Depth, east end 380 

Breadth / West end. . . oil 

{ East end ~ 

Middle Pool. * 3 
Distance from Upper Pool 

Length " "■ 160 

Depth, east end 423 

Breadth / West end 2 f l 

{ East end . . ----- 9 

T 236 

Lower Pool. 
Distance from Middle Pool 

Length 2 4 8 

Depth, east end 582 

Breadth / West end /]o 

I East end . . 148 

toJ^SZ ^^^Z^^ *i-?U- news 

Centura-. m * at the? are Rom an constructions of the second 

afine wlint tnetadc ^ b Itt™*^ h " d ^ - -ached 
times been identified with the oltainub ul ^ ed - DilVe ' This tas 
of queen Candaee. A little MuZ san 7 , ' IP ^ deaC ° n «* 

BettZur. We ascended and fouTd rtuns Ta'f T' Ul> ™ the ™™ * 

Crusaders. The p.ace is identified wttTth Bete zToA°T * * timCS ° f tha 
« >das Maccabeus it played an important role J ° Staa ^ 58 " In tha da ^ 

camped^ a^t ^TSftS^ ^Hebro f** ? 4 ,~ " ^ * ~ 
accent city was west of the present one ft f a ^ " S '° pe ° f a hil1 - Th <= 
o,est a ty of ,ower EOT , ^r^^^ST^^SIS: 



432 



Hebron 



Arba, a chief of the Anakim. Abraham bought here the double cave Machpelah in which 
he and Sarah, Isaac, and Jacob were buried. The present name of the city "el-Khalil" 
"the friend" is derived from Abraham, called in Holy Scripture the friend of God. 

Joshua took the city and gave it to Caleb of the tribe of Judah. It became a city 
of refuge in possession of the Levites. David was in Hebron crowned king, and reigned 
here seven years, six months, until the death of Saul. 

The present city contains ahout 19,000 inhabitants. Of these about 1,500 are 
Jews; the rest are Muslims. The chief industries are the preparation of skins for 




POOLS OF SOLOMON 



carrying liquids, and the making of glass. The Muslims are ignorant and fanatical. 
The great object of interest in Hebron is the Haram. 

The outer walls enclose a quadrangle measuring one hundred and ninety-seven feet 
long by one hundred and eleven feet wide externally. There are twenty-eight but- 
tresses, each twenty-five feet high, standing on a base wall which is flush with their 
faces. The masonry of the walls resembles the older masonry of the Jerusalem Haram, 
and thus proves their Jewish origin. The average height of the courses is three feet 
seven inches, the longest stone measuring twenty-four feet eight inches long and three 
feet eight and one-half inches high. The thickness of the walls is the same as that at 
Jerusalem, viz., eight and one-half feet, and the average height of the ancient wall is 
forty feet. On the top of this is a modern wall with battlements, plastered and white- 



Hebron 



433 



washed; and on the north, south and east the enclosure is surrounded by another of 
more modern masonry, forming passages with two flights of steps. The four corners 
of. the Haram point nearly to the four quarters of the compass, so that the longer sides 
are southwest and northeast, and the shorter northwest and southeast respectively. 
The gates leading to the steps are situated at the west and south ends of the southwest 
side, and both lead up by passages to a doorway in the northeast side, which is the 
onlv opening into the interior of the Haram. 

The church occupies the southeast portion of the enclosure, three of its walls being 
formed by the ancient outer ramparts. It is divided into a nave and two aisles of al- 




most equal width, and its length is again divided into three bays, measuring twenty- 
five feet, thirty feet, and fifteen feet respectively. The total length of the church is 
seventy feet, and breadth ninety-three feet. The nave is supported by four large piers 
with clustered columns, the capitals being adorned with thick leaves and mediaeval 
volutes. The church is now a Muslim mosque. 

The entrances to the Cave below are closed with stone flags, and are never now 
opened. The caves could only be reached by breaking up the flooring of the mosque, 
which would be regarded by the Muslims as an unpardonable act of sacrilege. The cave, 
however, is said to be double, as the word "Machpelah" signifies; and in the middle ages 
it was called "Spelunca duplex" in consequence. Two entrances are supposed to lead 
into the southwest cave, and one into the northeast one. In these caves are said to be the 



434 



The Mosque at Hebron 



the graves of the six patriarchs — Abraham and Sarah, Isaac and Rebekah, Jacob and Leah. 
Over the supposed positions of these tombs are placed cenotaphs. The shrines of Abra- 
ham and Sarah stand within two octagonal chapels in the Porch, which is double, the 
vaulted groined roof resting on heavy piers, and, according to an inscription, was restored 
in 1755. The shrines are covered with green and white silk, embroidered with Arabic 
texts in gold thread. The entrances are closed by open-barred gates, of iron plated 
with silver, and of the date 1259. The walls are cased with marble, having Arabic 
inscriptions near the top. Silver lamps and ostrich-shells are hung before the ceno- 
taphs, which are each eight feet long, four feet broad, and eight feet high. Copies of 




MOSQUE OVER CAVE OF MACHPELAH AT HEBRON 



the Koran on low wooden seats surround the cenotaphs. The shrines are lighted by 
stained-glass windows. To the northwest of the porch is an open courtyard, in which 
is a sundial, and on the other side of the court are the buildings enclosing the shrines 
of Jacob and Leah. Behind them are two small chambers, now used as lumber-rooms. 
A long chamber is situated at the southwest end of the buildings, and a door leads from 
it through the ancient rampart wall to another chamber fifty feet long by twenty feet 
broad, which apparently leads to the Shrine of Joseph, which is also reached through 
a vaulted gallery, in the corner of which is Adam's Footprint. This relic, brought 
from Mecca six hundred years ago, is a slab of stone with a sunk portion resembling the 
impression of a human foot. It is enclosed in a recess at the back of the shrine of Abra- 
ham. The mosque has two minarets. 



Ruins at Hebron 



435 



The dates of the various portions of the Haram are probably as follows: The 
outer walls or ramparts are Herodian; the mosque, or church, is Crusading, and was 
built between the years 1160 and 1180; the shrine of Joseph, the outer passages, door- 
ways, and steps, are Arabic, and date from the fourteenth century; the stained glass 
windows belong to the sixteenth century; whilst certain restorations in the courtyard 
and additional adornments of the shrines are of the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries. 
The pavement is comparatively modern. 

The bazaars of Hebron have nothing of special interest. 

ne rode out by a rudely paved way half an hour's ride north to Ramet el-Khalil 




TOMB OF THE PATRIARCHS AT HEBRON 



"the height of the friend (of God)." Here it is proposed to locate the oaks of Mamre. 
The ruins are there of a great wall in the form of a parallelogram. Several courses of the 
south wall, and west wall are in situ. The south wall is two hundred and fifteen feet 
long; the west wall about one hundred and sixty-two feet. Some of the great stones 
are over fifteen feet long, three feet nine inches broad; and two feet seven inches thick. 
The massive construction goes back to the time of Herod, or perhaps before his time. 
Its origin is unknown. The masonry is set without mortar. In the northwest angle 
of the enclosure is a great cistern. 

Sixty paces to the east are a few ruins of a Byzantine church, perhaps the ruins of 
one built by Constantine in Mamre. 



436 



Abraham's Oak 



We next rode over to Abraham's oak, el-ballut. It is a quercus ilex pseudococifera. 
It is the largest specimen found in Syria. The circumference of its trunk is thirty-five 
feet. It belongs to the Russians, who jealously guard it. Iron supports have been 
placed under its branches ; and a circular stone platform has been built around the tree 
completely investing the trunk. The tree is fast dying; most probably walling it in 




ABRAHAM'S OAK 



has had a bad effect on its life. The legend which makes it Abraham's oak is without 
foundation. 

To the east from Mamre is the height of Beni Nairn, whence Abraham saw the 
smoke of the burning of Sodom and Gomorrhah. 

We rode back through a rain storm to Hebron two miles distant. 

In the slope of the western hill on whose lower slope we are encamped is a modern 
graveyard. The hillside is filled with natural caves. The tombs of the Jews are white- 
washed. The summit of the hill is covered with ruins, among which the ruins of a 
church. Nearby are some ruins, by some said to be a Cyclopean wall. 



The Kaimmakam of Hebron 



437 



In Oriental cities one may tell the houses of the Jews from the seven branched 
candlestick which is painted-over the doors or windows. 

We prepared supper in the open by the tent. The night was clear and cool, full- 
moon. 

Februarv 21st. — We arose at 5:00 a.m. Mass in the tent by Pere Jaussen. the 
leader of the caravan. We wished to set out at once through the desert in the direction 
of the Dead Sea ; but a difficult y arose. On the day of our arrival, Pere Jaussen and the 
chancellor of the French Consulate at Jerusalem, who was of our caravan, called on 
the Kaimmakam of Hebron. Such is the name of the office of the chief ruler of the 
citv. He was most gracious ; but I suspect that Pere Jaussen forgot to present to the 
said Kaimmakam the backshish which the Oriental always expects. Forthwith 
began the cabals and secret intrigues between the authorities of Hebron and those of 
Jerusalem. The Oriental is an adept in lying and astuteness. It is a safe rule to be- 
lieve no Oriental of whatever religion or race. 

When Pere Jaussen again \-isited the Kaimmakam, that dignitary informed him 
that a guard of soldiers would be necessary, who could not be given without orders 
from Jerusalem. A despatch was said to be 
sent to Jerusalem, and we waited the answer. 
Even at this juncture a backshish would have 
solved the difficulty. The pretense of the Kaim- 
makam was that the tribes down in the desert 
were fighting, and that he could not allow Euro- 
peans to pass through the land without a suffic- 
ient escort. This was a plain he: as we 
found later that the tribes were at peace. 

The Kaimmakam proposed to send ten 
soldiers who should be at our charge. The A ^ ALT FOR DINNER 

whole day was consumed in useless visits to the Kaimmakam. He finally declared 
that he could not get soldiers from Jerusalem. Finally he consented to allow us to go 
to the region of Engedi; forbidding us to go further south. 

February 22nd. — Arose at 5:00 a.m. Mass in the tent. Camels were loaded with 
provender for the animals; and we concluded to go to Engedi. Later, after the camels 
were departed, he forbade us to go into any part of the region about the Dead Sea. 
and commanded us to return to Jerusalem. 

A council of war was held at the camp, and we concluded to defy the Kaimmakam, 
and pursue our originally planned route to the southern border of the Dead Sea, to the 
famous mountain of salt, called by the natives Jebel Usdum. To bring the Kaim- 
makam to terms we announced to him that we should send a despatch to every consul 
in Jerusalem, whose citizens were in the caravan, that the Kaimmakam of Hebron was 
oppressing us. We were three Americans, five Frenchmen, two Austrians, one Hol- 
lander and one German. This we accordingly did. announcing in the same despatch 
that we should continue our journey as first planned. This despatch caused a sensa- 
tion in Jerusalem. The Pasha of Jerusalem, who was evidently in accord with the 
duplicity of the Kaimmakam of Hebron, convinced the consuls that there was real 
danger; that the Kaimmakam was trying to protect us: and that we were acting rashly 
in making the journey. Couriers were despatched from the French consulate to over- 
take us. and advise us to return. 




438 



A Journey to the Dead Sea 



The Kaimmakam came down to the camp to entreat us to give over the journey. 
Meanwhile our camels were traversing the desert in the direction of Engedi. Amid 
a chorus of entreaties of the Kaimmakam and his officials we mounted and set off with- 
out any soliders as escort toward the southwest. We were eleven determined men, 
prepared to meet danger in the interest of knowledge. 




A BEDAWY 



The way passed over a rocky ledge then through a large fertile valley. We passed 
through the ancient Ziph. At 11:30 a. m. we reached Kennel. Considerable ruins, 
among which ruins of a church. Situation beautiful, plain fertile. 

We continued our journey half an hour southeast through a narrow valley between 
the rocks. At 12:30 p. m. we encamped at the abundant fountain of Touaineh. The 
day was cool and slightly cloudy. Here we ate dinner. During the dinner five Be- 
dawin came up out of the desert. They were clad in untanned sheepskin coats, and 
all carried muskets. They appeared very friendly. We mounted at 1:15 p. m. and 
rode southwest through the dry stony bed of a wady. 



Ox the Way to the Dead Sea 



439 



After half an hour the wady opened out 
verv fertile. The tribe Ta"amireh inhabit the land. 



into a level beautiful valley 
Pere Jaussen had former- 




ox THE WAY TO THE DEAD SEA 



It flooded the vast 



lv visited them, and we were confident that they would be friendly 

During the entire afternoon 
we saw no human habitation, noth- 
ing but the lonely desert, and an 
occasional Bedawy pasturing his 
flocks or traversing the desert. The 
road rose and fell gradually de- 
scending towards the lowest spot 
on the earth's surface. We over- 
took our camels which had been 
sent before us in the morning. 
This insured food for our beasts. 

We encamped for the night 
near a source of water in the vast 
desert. We had fallen in with 
some friendly Bedawin who en- 
camped close by. The night was 

clear and beautiful. The full moon was just beginning to wane, 
silence of the desert with its light. 

February 23rd. — I said Mass in the tent at 6:30 a. m. We breakfasted on black 
coffee, bread and cheese. We were now in the territory of the Jaalin. 

We placed the pack animals ahead of us, and set out at 8:45 a. m. towards the 
southeast. The land is a succession of low hills, some parts cultivated and other parts 
pastured. 

We were not out of sight of the camp when two Arab couriers arrived from the 
French consulate at Jerusalem. They had run on our trail the whole night through the 

desert from Hebron. They bore a 
message from the French Consul 
advising us to discontinue our 
journey and return to Jerusalem. 
Without dismounting, Pere Jaussen 
asked the will of the members of 
the caravan. Even* man expressed 
a wish to continue the journey. A 
message was written and sent back 
by the Arabs stating that the con- 
ditions of the country were peace- 
able, and that we were determined 
to continue our journey. We were 
thus outside the protection of all 
government. 

We continued southeast, and 
Pere Jaussen assured us that the small en- 




ROCK FORMATK 



soon passed a small Bedawin encampment 
campment was a good omen, as in times of war the tribesmass themselves in large camps. 

We rode over a vast undulating plateau. All traces of cultivation disappeared, the 
pasturage was scantv. 



440 



ZUERET EL-TAHTA 



As we advanced to the southeast, the land became constantly more barren, an 
arid waste covered with small stones. 

As we came to the brow of the steep descent to the Dead Sea, the view was sublime. 
There in that valley of horror lay the Dead Sea calm as death. Over across to the east 
were the mountains of Moab, with snow in some of the peaks. The mountains of 
Judah on the west side of the Dead Sea are furrowed by great gorges, which intersect 
each other in wild confusion. The surface of all the land is barren rock. As win- 
nowed grain falls in heaps on the threshing floor, so these ashen colored hills seemed 
blown up by a mighty wind. 

We made a short halt in the plain for dinner at 12:30 p. m. We found a spring 
of water but no shade. Not a bush in the whole plain. 

At 1:30 p. m. we mounted and rode through the winding bed of a mountain torrent. 
After forty minutes this path turns sharply eastward. We left it, and continued to 
the southeast, and soon came into another wady which wound through the mountains. 
The view was sublime. As we approached the Dead Sea the ravines became deeper, 

and the mountains more abrupt. 
The mountains are composed of 
sand," and soft rock. 

The strata of the rocks are 
broken and tilted and mixed with 
amorphous rock. Scattered about 
are great masses of igneous rock, 
the vomitings of nature in the 
awful throes which produced the 
Dead Sea. The stratified sand at 
times is formed into perpendicular 
walls, and pillars like ruins of a 
mighty city. 

Our way descended during all 
the afternoon;- but the last descent 
before we reached Zueret el-Tahta 

ZUERET EL-TAHTA 

is very steep. 

As we rode forward towards Zueret, we met the Sheikh of the Jaalin, Abou, Dahuk 
out in the plain. He consented to go with us as a guide. He was known to Pere 
Jaussen from a former experience. He was a small, wiry featured, bronzed, old man. 
poorly clad and poorly mounted; but there was a certain air of dignity about him that 
betokened that he was the superior of his tribe. 

In the descent to Zueret-el-Tahta we were obliged to dismount and lead our horses 
in a zigzag course down the steep descent. We reached Zueret at 4:30 p. m. The 
site is a small depression completely surrounded by perpendicular walls of rock. There 
is a narrow winding passage eastward to the Dead Sea through the dry bed of a moun- 
tain torrent. The site of Zueret is formed by the confluence of two small wadys. 
At our visit there was no water in either; but there was a spring in the place. At the 
acute angle of the confluence of the two wadys, the soft chalk rock shoots up like a 
great fortress. The Romans surmounted this crag with a fortress whose ruins are 
still visible. There are ruins of Roman walls also around the base. This has been by 
some identified as the Zoar of Holy Scripture. It is too far from the site of Sodom to 
be the site of Zoar. 




The Dead Sea 



441 



Nothing can exceed the loneliness of the place. The mountains shut out the view 
on all sides; we could have easily been taken, if the Arabs were disposed to attack us 
from the surrounding heights. Some armed Bedawin came up while we were pitch- 
ing our tents. Their burned visages gave evidence of the great heat of the region 
They were wretched looking creatures. They were barefoot; and one was bleedin- 
from a fissure in the burned sole of his foot. His companion took an old needle and 
some colored thread and sewed up the fissure. 

The night was fair; the moon shone: in the moonlight the fantastic rock formations 
appeared like spectral forms in the great silence of the desert. 




THE DEAD SEA 



We passed a quiet night: arose at 5:00 a. m. Mass in the tent. Pere Taussen 
slept but little, as he felt his responsibility- as our leader 

east TV^V^ Cai ? ^ 7:15 ^ We f ° 1Wd the Windin g gorge that opens to the 
east, and in half an hour emerged upon a broad flat plain on the shore of the Dead Sea 

lon/^ ^i^ 1 ? ° f " hat ° nce " aS a ^ eat ba ^ ^ is several miles 

a^f « ,Tl 3 Z Wlde " Ve ^ etation 1S **nt. some acacia trees, tamarisk trees 

and stun ied shrubbery resembling poplar. 

bv riX 6 r ° d , e T^TH- al ° ng Sh ° re ° f the Dead Sea - At times the shOTe is covered 
Z . ^ n fr ° m ^ J ° rdan - At the SOUthem extremi tv of this plain 

*e came to the mountain called by the Arabs Jebel Usdum. It is clear that this is in 



442 



The Dead Sea 



their language the Mountain of Sodom. This has been appealed to as a proof that 
Sodom was here placed. This is a fallacious argument. The Arabic name is not 
ancient. It is a name given to the mountain of salt, from its imagined association with 
Sodom. It is not a name of the place that has been preserved in the tradition of the 
land from the beginning; but a name given to the mount by the Arabs who had heard 
of the destruction of the ancient cities; they readily associated this mountain of salt 
with the site of the city which was destroyed by fire from Heaven, one of whose inhab- 
itants was turned into a pillar of salt. The mountain is a long perpendicular ridge of 
rock salt and soft friable rock. The salt melts and oozes down over the side of the 
mountain and in the caves, forming small stalactites. Pieces of crystallized rock 
salt strew the plain at the base . Of course we carried away some of the salt rock. 

We rode down southward between Jebel Usdum and the sea. The mountain is 
a long ridge running parallel with the sea. There is a stretch of rocky level land here 
on the coast between the mountain and the sea. The side of the mountain which 
faces the sea is not of salt formation as is the western side. The eastern face of the 
mountain resembles the ashes of rock. There are no ruins here except the ruins of 
nature. It is as though a whirlwind of fire had swept through the mountains, burning the 
rocks to ashes, and leaving great mounds of the ashes of rock. 

We rode down to the southern point of Jebel Usdum. The landscape is severe 
and desolate. Some camels browsed on the shore; but we saw no flocks. A little 
north of Jebel Usdum a strong sulphur spring rises put of the shore. 

The ridge of Jebel Usdum is over seven miles long, and its highest peak is about 
six hundred feet. Some of the phantastic rocks formations are called by the Natives- 
Lot's wife. The Dead Sea is called by them Bahr Lut, "Lot's Sea." 

One theory for the formation of the Dead Sea and in fact of the Jordan valley is- 
that the great depression was caused by a fault and the sliding down of the strata. 
Around the banks of the Dead Sea there are indisputable evidences of volcanic action. 

"The Dead Sea, placed at the southern end of the Valley of the Jordan, presents 
about the same extent as the Lake of Geneva. It occupies a vast basin, which is cer- 
tainly the deepest depression on the face of the earth, for its surface is four hundred 
metres below that of the Mediterranean. Rocky walls, rising to eight hundred metres, 
surround it on every side. This sea is nourished by the Jordan, a rapid river, whose 
waters are, during a part of the year, charged with mud and organic matters proceeding 
from its source amid the snows of Mount Hermon. The saline, thermal, and bitumin- 
ous springs contribute around its margin a considerable mass of water, which may 
double that brought down by the Jordan. 

The density of the water of the Dead Sea is 1,162, whilst that of the ocean is only 
1,027; so that the human body, as has been frequently said, and as I have myself been 
able to ascertain in two successive visits, floats easily, and without the help of any 
movement, on the surface of this heavy liquid. 

"The waters of the Dead Sea cannot escape by any known issue, and as it is very 
evident that its level has subsided considerably, the evaporation must raise every day 
at least 6,500,000 tons of water, an enormous mass, which is, however, easily drawn 
up by the rays of a fiery sun, the Valley of the Dead Sea being one of the hottest points 
on the globe. During a long series of centuries the waters must have been concentrat- 
ing more and more, and the inferior beds of this liquid mass are formed only of mud 
enclosing an enormous quantity of crystalline needles of different salts forming a semi- 
fluid pap. 



The Dead Sea 



443 



"The water drawn at two hundred metres and brought home, in 1866, by M. Lartet, 
the geologist attached to the expedition of the Duke de Luynes, has been analysed by 
M. Terreil, who found: — 

Chloride of Sodium 60. 125 gr. 

Magnesium 160. 

Potassium 9. 

Calcium 

Bromide of Magnesium 

Lime 0.78 

"A total of 246.077 grains of saline matter per litre. In certain parts the bromine, 



>49 



5-°4 




ENTRANCE OF JORDAN INTO DEAD SEA 

which the experiments of Paul Bert have shown to have a very energetic action upon the 
vitality of the tissues, may reach even to seven grains per litre. The microscopist 
Ehrenberg, the naturalists of the expedition of Captain Lynch, those who accompanied 
the Duke de Luynes, have verified that the waters of the Dead Sea do not contain any 
living vegetable or animal organism. Recently, M. Barrois, the able zoologist of the 
Faculty of Lille, has traversed in a boat a great part of the Dead Sea, hoping to find 
there the inferior animalculae. But, like his predecessors, he has been able to ascertain 
that these waters are entirely sterile." 

I am persuaded that the ancient Sodom was not at Jebel Usdum; but at the 
northern end of the Sea where the Jordan empties into it. That the Dead Sea shows 



444 



The Site of Sodom 




evidences of volcanic fire is admitted by all. It is impossible to assign the time of the 
great convulsion of nature. In Genesis xiv. 4, it is stated that the Vale of Siddim, 
where Chedorlaomer and his allied kings overcame the kings of the cities of the plain, is 

now the Salt Sea. It is possible 
that at that date the bed of the 
Dead Sea was a valley having in it 
a small lake into which the Jordan 
emptied. 

The mighty catastrophe which 
destroyed the cities may have been 
coupled with an earthquake which 
rent the crust of the earth, and 
caused the great depression which 
submerged the five cities, and 
completely destroyed them. Other 
geologists place the formation of the 
Dead Sea at the end of the tertiary 
period. The theory that it was 
formerly connected with the Red 
Sea is untenable. Fossils found in 
the bordering mountains indicate 
umm bagheg that its former level was nearly 

fourteen hundred feet higher than its present one. In that day the sea is supposed 
to have filled the whole Jordan valley even to the Lake of Gennesaret. In time 
the level of this sea is supposed to have lowered, forming the Jordan 
valley, and leaving the Dead Sea. 

Of course these are but geo- 
logical hypotheses. The real fact 
is that we do not know how or 
when the Dead Sea was formed. The 
inspired account of the destruction 
of Sodom and Gomorrah does not 
oblige us to believe that the Dead 
Sea did not then exist. They may 
have been on the shore of the sea, 
and their sites may have sunk 
down, allowing the sea to engulf 
their ashes, such phenomena have 
happened in our own times. 

In any hypothesis Sodom can 
not be placed at the southern point. 

Lot chose the Jordan valley as 
his inheritance, and fixed his tent at 
Sodom. Now had Sodom been at the 
southern extremity of the Dead Sea, Lot's habitat would have been over forty miles 
from the plain of the Jordan. This is made more incredible if we believe the sea to have 
existed in his day. It is plain that Sodom was a city bordering on the plain of the Jor- 
dan where Lot pastured his flocks. This excludes the southern end of the Dead Sea. 




ALOP 



COAST OF THE DEAD SEA 



Ma SAD A 



445 



We now turned northward, and rode over the rocks and driftwood, along the 
shore of the sea. A strong wind was blowing from the north. The sea was tem- 
pestuous. The froth of the waves was deposited like wool along the shore line. 

At 11:30 a. m. we came to Umm Bagheg, situated in the plain of the seashore at the 
mouth of a deep gorge. We found a stream of good water here, and ate dinner in the 
shade of the great rocks. Some gazelles and partridge were seen in the mountains. The 
silence of death reigns everywhere. 

We departed at 12:45 &°i n & northward along the coast. The path was difficult. 
At times we were obliged to climb over boulders up a thousand feet above the sea level ; 
again the path descended to its margin. 

The path passed through narrow defiles between the rocks where our stirrups 
clanked against the boulders on both sides. 

The mountain side and foot are strewn with the ruins of the mountain itself. The 
mountain generally presents a wall of brown clay and soft rock. It is cut through by 
many great gorges. In places great portions of the mountain have detached them- 
selves, and plunged down the mountain side in. dreadful ruin. The wall of the moun- 
tain sometimes recedes, forming 
sandy plains miles in extent. The 
vegetation is scanty; a few acacia 
and tamarisk trees. We found a 
'few anemones, and other flowers 
wasting their sweetness on the 
desert air. 

At 4:30 p. m. the great wall of 
mountains receded forming a plain 
of white clay. This clay is fur- 
rowed in all directions by furrows 
sometimes several hundred feet 
deep. The clay is thus cut into 
great pillars as though hewn by the 
hand of man. 

The path was difficult here, the coast of the dead sea 

descending into' the great furrows, and rising over the steep walls of clay. 

We receded from the sea, and turned towards the base of the mountains. We 
saw a little ahead the great height of Masada towering above the other heights of the 
chain. We rode close to its base and encamped two hundred yards from its base. We 
were about three miles from the Dead Sea. The silence of the vast solitude was awful; 
we were in a land of dreadful memories. 

We watched the rays of the setting sun creep up over the rock}' wall of Moab over 
across the Dead Sea; and as the sun set, a 'strange bluish tint was reflected from the sea. 

The Arabs made a fire and began to bake bread. They dug a small trench and 
made a fire in it of the dry stalks of the vegetation of the plain. Over the fire was 
placed a "saj" or sort of circular griddle. The bread was mixed of flour and water with- 
out leaven. It was kneaded on a piece of oilcloth. Cakes of this dough about as thick 
as our griddle cakes were placed on the saj, and merely sered a little on both sides, and 
then thrown into a heap, to serve for the night and the following days. The bread is 
not well baked, and is not wholesome. 




446 



Masada 



Februaiy 25th. — We arose at 5:00 a. m. Mass in the tent; breakfast of black 
coffee and bread, no drinking water. 

The Fortress of Masada was first built by Jonathan Maccabseus in the second 
century B. C. Herod the Great added to it so considerably as to render the place 
impregnable — intending it as a refuge for himself in case of danger. The description 
given of it by Josephus is accurate. Besides the fortification and cisterns, Herod built 
on the north and west sides a palace and baths, adorned with columns and porticoes. 
The interior was left free for cultivation, so that the garrison might be able in some 




MOUNTAIN OF THE FORTRESS OF MASADA 



measure to raise their own food. The jealous and timid monarch laid up in the fortress 
immense stores of arms and provisions. 

Not long before the siege of Jerusalem by Titus, the Sicarii got possession of Masada 
and its treasures by stratagem. The Sicarii ("Robbers," "Freebooters," something 
like the Spanish guerilla bands during the Peninsular war) were Jews who devoted their 
lives to the avenging of their wrongs upon the Romans, at all times, and by all possible 
means. As evils accumulated on their unfortunate country they became reckless, 
so that the separating line between friend and foe was not very distinctly marked. The 
whole country was laid under contribution, and trembled at their name. After the 
destruction of Jerusalem, the fortresses of Masada, Herodium, and Machaerus. all in the 
hands of the Sicarii, were the only places that held out against the Romans. The two 



-Ma sad a 44 _ 



g x al fo L ; cmus Bassus; and h,s successor F,a ™ s **» 

c, iam Mc b e 10 .uasaaa. ine fortress was commanded bA- Fleaypr a cVii^^i ^ 
*™T » C " bCSiegerS ' destruction all the JSv n 




FORTRESS OF MASADA 

and blew strong in an opposite direction. The new wall was ,nn, a * - 

Eleazer assembled the bravest of his band, and ur^ed them to out^he T""' 

chrldrem and themselves to death, rather than submf to tn^RoYans ™* 



448 



Ascent of Masada 



But nature and affection were more powerful than the eloquence of Eleazer. The 
hearts of the soldiers recoiled from the thought of slaying those dearer to them than 
life. Eleazer, however, followed up his speech with one still more stirring. Inspired 
with one determination to gain his object, he adopted a more elevated strain, mixing 
the bitterest invectives with the loftiest hopes. 

His words drove the garrison to frenzy. They embraced their wives and children, 
for a moment lavished on them every term of endearment, and then plunged their 
swords into their hearts. This scene of carnage finished, they heaped up all the treas- 
ures of the fortress in one pile and burned them to ashes. Ten of their number were 
next chosen by lot to kill the rest. The victims calmly laid themselves down, each 
beside his fallen wife and children, and clasping their corpses in his arms, presented 
his throat to the executioner. The remaining ten now drew lot for one who, after killing 
his companions, should destroy himself. The nine were slain, and he who stood singly 
and last, having inspected the prostrate multitude to see that no one breathed, fired the 
palace, drove his sword through his body, and fell down beside his family. 

Even after the lapse of eighteen centuries we can scarcely look on the scene of such 
a fearful tragedy without a thrill of horror. The deluded garrison believed that all 
should thus perish together; but they were deceived — there remained a few to tell the 

awful tale. An elderly woman, and another of super- 
ior education (a relative of Eleazer) , with five children, 
had concealed themselves in the vaults, and escaped. 
The Romans, ignorant of what had occured, were 
under arms by break of day, and advanced to the 
attack. They anticipated a fierce resistance, and 
prepared for a still fiercer onset. But on reaching 
the summit no enemy appeared — no sound was heard 
save the crackling of the flames amid the palace-walls. 
They raised a shout, and the women hearing the noise 
came out from their retreat and told them the sad 

THE GREAT CISTERN 

tale (Jos. Wars, vii. 8, 9). 

The modern name of the ancient Masada is Sebbeh. We began the ascent by a 
winding path at the northern border of its slope. We reached the summit in one hour 
and fifteen minutes. It is a difficult and dangerous undertaking. Some of the caravan 
were unable to make the ascent. We were often obliged to crawl on hands and knees 
where a misstep meant death. In places we observed great fissures in the mountain 
side where the rock has started to fall and has been arrested. Both at the foot of the 
mount and on its summit are Roman ruins. The top of the mount is a small irregular 
plateau 1,700 feet above the level of the Dead Sea. Roman ruins of a fortress strew the 
summit. There are also found ruins of a Byzantine church whose pavement was made 
of small stones and mortar in the form of rude mosaics. 

The view from the summit is sublime. To the south Jebel Usdum juts out into 
the sea. The great chain of Moab sprinkled with snow faded away on the southeastern 
horizon beyond Petra. The great Hermon was visible to the north. Over across the 
Dead Sea the great gorge Arnon ploughes through the wall of rock. The extent of the 
view is from Hermon to Petra in the desert. 

Towards the southern extremity of the plateau we descended a ruined rock stairs 
to a great cistern. The walls were cemented. It is about eighty-four feet long and 
twenty-five feet wide. It is perhaps forty-five feet from the bottom to the rock over- 




The Coast of the Dead Sea 



449 



head. The crust of rock over the cistern is perhaps forty feet thick. In our country 
abundantly supplied with water we can not understand these great provisions to 
procure water. 

Masada is divided from an almost equally high mountain on the south by a mighty 
gorge cut down between perpendicular walls of rock. 

We departed northward along the coast at 11:15 a - m - Between Masada and 
Engedi for several miles the rocks are covered with sulphurous deposits, and the air 
is heavy with sulphurous odors. 

Sometimes the mountain range recedes for miles from the sea. leaving a sandv 




THE DEAD SEA SHORE AT EXGEDI 



waste. Again the plain is covered by chalk rocks and furrowed by deep beds of dried 
up rivers The truth is patent on all sides that there has been in historic times a 
great change in nature here. 

Sometimes the mountain comes down to the water's edge, and its side is covered 
with boulders and fragments of the ruins of the mountain. 

We rode through the rocks by a path that' only those who have lost the taste of 
fears would travel. 

We saw some Arabs extracting salt from the sea water by means of pools in the 
sand. We have seen no human habitation in three days. Sometimes a day passes 
that we meet not even a lone Bedawy of the desert. 



450 



The Dead Sea 



At 2:15 p. m. we entered the fertile valley of Engedi. Its Arabic name is 'Am 
Jidy ; its identification with the ancient Engedi is certain. 

The mountain of Engedi is blocked out by two great gorges, one on the south 
and one on the north. In the northern gorge is a fine stream of water. This gives the 
place its name "the goat's fountain."' 

The plain here is level and most fertile but generally uncultivated. I found a 
few beds of melons; but nothing more. There are no human habitations of any kind 




BATHERS IN DEAD SEA 



here, and no flocks. The insecurity of life and property make that a desert which 
nature made a garden. 

Scattered over the plain are circular ridges of stone from the days when the 
Romans pitched their tents there. 

We bathed in the Dead Sea. The water is of a delightful temperature. Its 
specific gravity is so great that the human body can not sink in it. Care must be 
taken not to submerge the head, as the water burns the surface of the mucuous mem- 
brane. The bath is refreshing, although the deposit of salt left on the skin burns a little. 
We ate dinner under an acacia tree by the water. 

We found many trees of the apples of Sodom. It is a low tree somewhat resemb- 
ling the rubber tree. The wood is very soft, and exudes a milk white juice when in- 



Ascent of Mountain of Exgedi 



451 



cised. The fruit is a mere shell containing some seeds. The usual description of this 
fruit is a fable. 

A cool breeze from the north cooled the desert air, and the evening was delightful. 

The natural fertility of this well watered plain contrasts sadly with the desert that 
man has made of it. The beloved in the Canticle of Canticles likens her lover to a 
cluster from the vineyards of Engedi; and now its fertile soil lies waste and desolate 
because the curse of Islam is allowed to exist by the apostate nations of Christendom. 

About three hundred and fifty feet above the level of the Dead Sea on the moun- 
tain side are some ancient ruins by a hot spring. The water has a temperature of 8o° 
Fahrenheit. Here we pitched our camps. The water is full of small black animal culae 
which adhere to the stones. It is brackish but potable when allowed to cool. The 
Arabs fill a leathern bucket of it and suspend it from the branch of a tree. It sways in 
the- breeze, and soon becomes deHghtfully cool. 

February 26th. — Sunday. Two Masses in tent. The temperature was such that 
up to ten o'clock the sunlight 
was preferable to the shade. 

We began the ascent of the 
mountain above Engedi at 11:00 
a. m. ; we reached the summit at 

11:45 a - m - 

The mountain rises in an 
almost perpendicular wall over 
nineteen hundred feet above the 
level of the Dead Sea. The path 
is a zigzag course upon the nar- 
row ledges of the rocks. 

The mules bearing our bag- 
gage were unloaded at the most 
difficult part : and barefooted half 
naked Arabs bore our baggage on 
their backs up over the rocks. Often the blood would burst from their noses by rea- 
son of the effort. They sometimes staggered and fell. 

We led our sure footed Arab horses over the slipper}- ledges. A misstep of a couple 
of inches would plunge man or beast into the abyss. 

At the worst parts old pieces of canvas, and saddle cloths were spread on the 
rocks to prevent the horses from slipping. The Mukari stationed themselves in the 
rocks and called upon Abraham. David. Isaac, and Muhammad to save their beasts. 

The ascent was made successfully, and we rested hah an hour on the sum m it. 
We then mounted and rode westward over an undulating barren plateau. It is a part 
of the great desert of Judah. It is over sixty miles long, and in places over sixteen 
miles wide. It is a steppe-plateau furrowed by deep ravines. Much of it is without 
water. 

At 12:50 p. m. we halted by some shrubs for dinner; there was no shade, and the 
day was hot. 

At 2:15 p. m. we mounted and rode northwestward over a sandy plateau which 
wound among hills of soft ashen colored rock. 

We passed some lonely Bedawin graves in the desert : wherever the living are, there 
also are the graves of the dead. 




ROMAN R 



452 



The Bedawin 



After a ride of half an hour the plateau narrowed into a winding defile, through 
which the dry bed of a mountain torrent wound its tortuous way. All about was 
sandy desolation, and the silence of death reigned. 

Our way was west by a little north, and gradually ascended. 

At 2:45 p. m. we turned more to the north by a winding path over the barren 
slopes of hills. At intervals a faint trace of green appeared ; but the general character 
of the land was desolation. 

At. 4:00 p. m. we halted at our camp close to the tent of the Bedawin tribe Ta'am- 
ireh whom we knew to be friendly. The whole tribe has two hundred men capable of 




THE MOUNTAIN OF ENGEDI 



bearing arms. The present encampment had eighteen tents. Flocks of fine sheep 
and goats were feeding on the scanty pasturage about the tents. The women keep 
apart. The Sheikh took us into his tent, spread a blanket on the earth, on which we 
sat. He then took some coffee beans, roasted them in a pan, crushed them in a mortar, 
and made excellent coffee. About two tablespoonfuls are given at a time in little cups, 
the same cup often serving without washing for the whole company. The small 
quantity of coffee is given that the guest may be able to accept a like portion many times, 
as every time that it is offered it is a sign of hospitality. If the cups were filled the 
first time, it would be a sign that the Bedawy wished the guest to leave his tent. This 
tribe is the most intelligent of all that we have met. The children receive some rudi- 



Turkish Duplicity 



453 



ment'ary education in reading and writing. They write on pieces of tin. At a dis- 
tance of three hundred rods from the encampment under the wall of white rock of the 
mountain is a reservoir of water. The place is called Bir Misraniye. 

We arose at 6:00 a. m. Mass in the tent. It was a clear cool morning, so that we 
welcomed the sunlight. The Bedawin brought us some partridge eggs, which were 
boiled for breakfast. 

At 8:00 a. m. we set out to the northwest. The way passed over steep slopes of 
desolate hills. It is impossible to follow any one of the wadys, as they wind about in 
wild confusion. The way was very difficult. At 10:00 a. m. we passed a cistern of 
water called Bir Ayala. At 10:30 we left the desert, and reached plowed fields. 

We reached the site of ancient Thekoa at 11:30 a. m. This was the birthplace of 
the prophet Amos. It is well situated on an oblong plateau 2,700 feet above sea 
level. There is a fountain of water at the foot of the hill. Ruins of the Roman epoch 
cover the surface of the ground. Most interesting is a monolithic baptistery well pre- 
served. It is an octagon with faces twenty-six and one-half inches wide. The interior 
is circular forty-eight inches in diameter at the top. At a distance of twenty-six inches 
from the top there is a circular ledge, so that the remaining nineteen and one-half inches 
of the depth have only a diameter of thirty-one inches. In . the east and west faces are 
Greek crosses in relief ; on the north face is a circle in relief ; and on the south face is a 
star in relief made by a square superposed on 
another. At the bottom is an opening com- 
municating with a dry cistern. 

Thekoa is'bn the confines of the Desert of 
Judah. From its height one may obtain a fine 
view of the great desert stretching down to the 
great depression of the Dead Sea. The desert's" 
surface looks as though a mighty wind had 
blown the face of the earth into great 
drifts of sand. Theoka is not inhabited. 

We dined amid the ruins; mounted at 1:50 THE greek baptistery at thekoa 
p. m. ; reached Bethlehem at 4:00 p. m. and Jerusalem at 5:15 p. m. The way 
between Thekoa and Bethlehem passes over rocks difficult of passage. 

Pere Jaussen felt a just pride as he rode into Jerusalem at the head of his caravan. 
We had accomplished our object in the face of many difficulties ; and many wondering 
eyes were turned upon us as we rode into the Holy City. 

The temperature at 9:00 p. m. is 52 degrees. 

February 28th. — Mass at 6:30 a. m. at St. Etienne. Beautiful morning; temper- 
ature at 8:00 a. m. 50 Fahrenheit. 

At midday the temperature rose to 58 ; and fell to 45 at 9:00 p. m. 

March 1st. — Mass at St. Etienne at 6:00 a. m. The weather is fine; temperature 
at 6:00 a. m. 43 Fahrenheit. The Mutesarrif of Jerusalem has promised to make an 
official inquiry into the action of the Kaimmakam of Hebron. Some lay the blame on 
the Mutesarrif; others place the responsibility on the Kaimmakam of Hebron. It is 
remarkable how slow the members of St. Etienne are to see that both the Mutesarrif 
of Jerusalem and the Kaimmakam of Hebron were conjunct in the affair. 

The temperature at 9:00 p. m. is 45 degrees. 

March 2nd. — Mass at St. Etienne at 6:00 a. m. ; temperature at 8 :oo a. m. 48 Fahren- 
heit ; sky clear. At midday temperature rose to 56° ; at 9 :oo p. m. it was 46 Fahrenheit. 




454 



Jerusalem 



March 3rd. — Mass at St. Etienne at 6:00 a. m. ; morning fair; temperature at 7:30 
a. m. 46 Fahrenheit. 

The day remained cool, and partially cloudy. It being Friday, I again made the 
Stations of the Cross. No man in his right mind will believe that the Stations are the 
exact way through which Jesus passed to execution. Still it is a most impressive 
and fitting act of devotion. 

Through the dirty streets, passing among camels and asses the procession pro- 
ceeds, kneeling at every Station in the dust of the street to adore the Lord Jesus. The 
Muslims are respectful; even in the Barracks where the first station is made, no word 
or act of disrespect is offered to the Christians. The throngs of the street halt and 
wait for the Christians to finish their devotions. Far different was the treatment 
which the Lord received when he made that great first Way of the Cross which re- 
deemed the world. 

The number of pilgrims was not what it ought to have been to-day in the Way of 
the Cross. Men do not visit Jerusalem to-day as they did in former times. Then they 
came for devotion. They came with their pilgrim's staff, and coarse garb. They 
came to commemorate the sufferings of Jesus, and to do penance. Now men come for 
pleasure; they are sight-seers, tourists. They seek the comforts of -fine hotels. They 
must have carriages and servants. They visit Jerusalem as they visit the other cities 
of the world, simply to satisfy their curiosity; and they avoid everything that is hard. 
The poor Russian peasants are now the most exemplary pilgrims who come to Jeru- 
salem. 

The thermometer at 9:00 p. m. registered 48 Fahrenheit. 

March 4th. — Mass at St. Mary Magdalene's altar in the Church of the Holy Sepul- 
chre, at 6:00 a. m. Misery is so common here in this land that only its extreme forms 
arrest one's observation. Yet a walk through the streets of Jerusalem cannot fail to 
move the heart that is still human. The blind and the crippled are there in numbers; 
men carried on the backs of others; old women bent double, crawling through the streets; 
men creeping along on the stumps of hands and legs; men with withered hands and 
legs; others with twisted, distorted members; lepers holding out the livid stumps of 
hand and legs, — these cry in the name of the God of humanity for Backshish. One 
would be more disposed to give to them, were it not that this word Backshish is heard 
so often from almost every Arab whom one meets that its very sound becomes hate- 
ful. 

The morning is cloudy, temperature at 8:00 a. m. 50 Fahrenheit. 

The day remained totally cloudy, and cool but no rain fell. Jerusalem is filled 
with Americans, mainly pleasure seekers. They enjoy donkey rides, carriage rides, 
sight-seeing and the social side of life in hotels and hospices. It is a great harvest for 
the Arabs, as the Americans are generous with their money. 

This afternoon I assisted at the sermon and Benediction at the Chapel of the Per- 
petual Adoration of the Sceurs Reparatrices. It was very beautiful, and devotional. 
As the priest blessed the worshippers with the Sacred Host, it seemed as if Jesus had 
come back to Jerusalem to forgive it, and to bless it. 

The thermometer at 9:00 p. m. registers 45 Fahrenheit. 

March 5th — Mass at 7 :oo a. m. at the chapel of the Sceurs Reparatrices. Several 
Americans present. After Mass I went down to the Church of the Holy Sepulchre. 
To-day beginning at 8 a. m., took place in the Church of the Holy Sepulchre the conse- 
cration of Mgr. Frediano Giannini as Archbishop of Beyrouth. It was a fine cere- 



Bethlehem 



455 



mony. The consecrating archbishop was Mgr. Aurelio Bnante. Apostolic Delegate 
of Alexandria. The consecration took place at an improvised altar right in front of 
the entrance to the tomb. 

In the afternoon I again assisted at the procession in the Church of the Holy Sep- 
ulchre. It is a splendid act of religion, essentially independent of the question of the 
authenticity of Calvary and the Sepulchre. 

The day is very windy. At midday the temperature was 55 Fahrenheit. At 
9 p. m. it is 45 Fahrenheit. 

March 6th. — Mass at the traditional Sepulchre at 6.30 a. m. A very high wind 
prevailed last night, and towards morning it brought a heavy rain which still continues; 
the temperature is 45 Fahrenheit at 7.30 a. m. About noon the rain ceased, but the 
clouds remained. At 9 p. m. the temperature is 43 Fahrenheit. 

March 7th. — Mass at St. Etienne at 6 a. m. ; temperature at 8 a. m., 46 Fahrenheit. 
The day began cloudy, and throughout the whole day the clouds have not been broken 
except for a brief moment early in the forenoon. It is a day of gloom, a day when the 
natural desolation of this land is intensified by the absence of the sunshine. 

March 8th. — Mass at St. Etienne at 6 a. m. 

It rained hard during the night, but at 7.30 a. m., the clouds are breaking up. 
and the joyful face of the sun is again seen. The temperature at this hour is 44 
Fahrenheit. 

In the afternoon at a little after three it rained for about an hour. At 4.20 p. in., 
in company with Mgr. Denis O'Callaghan of Boston, Mass., I went over to Bethlehem. 
It is not the particular spot of the grotto that attracts me. I admit that the highest 
probability is that the stable in which our Lord was born was not this great cave. 
It is not the Milk Grotto that attracts me; far better were it for the Catholic faith if 
the milk grotto were suppressed; it is a weed that has grown in the rich garden of our 
faith. But Bethlehem itself attracts me. I love to stand on its elevation, and gaze 
round about on the hillsides. Here was fulfilled the hope of the ages ; here Christ was born. 

The distance from Jerusalem to Bethlehem is about six miles. About half way out 
is the Greek convent of St. Elias. Its name comes from the tomb within it of a Greek 
schismatic bishop of Jerusalem who died in 1345. The present occupants play on the 
ignorance of the pilgrims who come thither, and associate the sanctuary with. Eliah 
the prophet. 

Bethlehem is built upon the summits of two hills. At the eastern extremity of 
the city is the Grotto of the Nativity. The population is about 8,000, nearly all Christ- 
ians. About two-thirds of the Christian population are Roman Catholics, and one 
third Greek schismatics. Since 1834 when Ibrahim Pasha destroyed the rebellious 
Muslims, they are but a handful in Bethlehem. 

Nowhere in Syria is the Catholic religion so flourishing as at Bethlehem. The 
Sisters of St. Joseph have two convents there. They have a parochial school of 400 
scholars, an orphan asylum, and other pious foundations. The Christian Brothers 
have a novitiate here where M. Evagre their Syrian provincial resides. The Sisters 
of Charity have a hospital and orphanage. The Salesian Fathers of Dom Bosco have 
an orphanage and a large school. They are assisted by nuns of the same congregation. 
On a little hill near Bethlehem the Carmelite nuns have one of the most beautiful 
chapels of Syria. 

It may be well to note here that there were in 1904 in the Holy Land 760 Roman 
Catholic priests: 420 nuns, 5,200 children in the Catholic schools; 790 orphans in Cath- 



456 



Bethlehem 



olic orphanages, 10 hospitals caring for between 5,000 and 6,000 sick annually. In 
the 26 dispensaries more than 300,000 receive medicine annually. 

In Bethlehem the Franciscans take care of the Grotto of the Nativity; and also 
have their parish church of St. Catharine close by. They have also an elementary 
school, and a high school, frequented by 350 students annually. They have a large 
well-conducted hospice for pilgrims. 

The principal industry of Bethlehem is the manufacture and sale of objects of 
piety made of mother-of-pearl, and wood. 

The central object of interest at Bethlehem is the Grotto of the Nativity. That 




MARKET PLACE AT BETHLEHEM 



.an ancient tradition assigns this cave as the place of the Nativity of Jesus Christ 
there is no doubt. St. Justin speaks of the cave where Joseph sought refuge. Eu- 
sebius declares that the men of Bethlehem confirm the tradition that in this grotto 
Jesus Christ was born. The history of the Basilika is given thus by Frere Lievin de 
Hamme: — 

"St. Evarist, who ascended "the throne of St. Peter in about no, and other Chris- 
tians, built an oratory over the spot of Christ's Nativity; but it was demolished by 
Hadrian, who established the worship of Venus on the spot where the Crib stood, and 
planted around it a wood consecrated to Adonis. St. Helena purified the spot and 
began a basilica, which was completed by Constantine, her son, in 333. 



Bethlehem 



457 



Towards the close of the fourth century. St. Jerome and St. Paula came to Eve 
near the Grotto, but in 414, their monasteries were destroyed by the Pelagians. In 
530, Justinian restored the Basilica. 

Later on we notice that the Patriarch Sophronius complained bitterly in a sermon, 
preached at Jerusalem in 636, of not being able to visit the Grotto of the Nativity, 
because Omar's armv was besieging Bethlehem. In 1010. the impious Hakem 
sent men to destrov it. but a bright light miraculously struck the would-be destroyers 
to the ground, and on their renewing their sacrilegious attempt, the same thing hap- 
pened again, and some were struck dead. On the arrival of the Crusaders at Em- 




mans, the people of Bethlehem sent messengers, praying for help to be delivered from 
the Mussulmans. Tancred and one hundred picked warriors left Emmaus at midnight 
and before sunrise planted the standard of the cross upon the Basilica. There Bald- 
win I. was anointed and crowned King of Jerusalem by Daimbert, Patriarch of Jeru- 
salem, on Christmas dav, 1161. 

In 1203, the Sultan el-Melek-el-Adel-ben-Ayoob allowed the Latins to restore 
the church, but twenty years later Regnier. Bishop of Bethlehem, was driven from his 
See, and sought refuge in France. In 1227, the Rev. Fathers Abraham and Arachel. 
of the united Armenians, had an interesting carved door placed in the church, by 
order of Hay toon. King of Armenia. The chronicles of the Franciscan Order and the 



458 



Bethlehem 



most authentic authors, state that it was in 1230, when the Friars Minor were allowed 
to establish themselves in Bethlehem, by leave of Salahad, called also Melek-es-Salehh, 
Sultan of Damascus, brother of Melek el-Kamel (the Meledeen of the historians), friend 
of St. Francis. The convent was partly ruined by the Mussulmans in 1263; but the 
Fathers obtained a firman, in 1271, from Bibars, Sultan of Egypt and of Syria, per- 
mitting them to repair the church, then called St. Mary's. The Right Rev. John Toma- 




WOMEN OF BETHLEHEM 



celli, Custos of the Holy Places, completed, in 1464, the restoration begun by his prede- 
cessors, and entirely renovated the timber-work and the roof. The pine-wood rafters 
were made in Venice, and brought to Jaffa by the galleys of the Republic, and were 
transported on the backs of camels to Bethlehem. In 1537, the Sultan Suleiman-el- 
Kamooni, seeing his fleet destroyed by Doria, Doge of Genoa, ordered the Governor of 
Jerusalem to imprison all the Franciscans of Bethlehem and Jerusalem in the tower of 
David, whence they were transferred to Damascus, and after three years' imprisonment. 



Bethlehem 



459 



liberated by Francis I, King of France. In 1549, a part of the church and convent 
at Bethlehem was overthrown by an earthquake. 

In 1564. the Schismatic Greeks began to intrigue in order to get possession of the 
birthplace of the Saviour. In 161 9, one of the Armenian Bishops sacrificed five hundred 
sheep for the prosperity of the Sultan, and by this base act of flatten secured possession 
of the key of the sanctuary.- But it was recovered by the intervention of the French 
ambassadors, who obtained a firman confirming the Franciscans in their rights to the 
Basilica and other Shrines at Bethlehem. Philip IV., King of Spain, sent thirty thou- 
sand ducats to repair the church and convent in 1628. and obtained a fresh recognition 
of the rights of the "Frankish religious." Five years later, the Schismatics succeeded 
in expelling the Franciscans from the Holy Sepulchre, Calvary, Bethlehem, and the 
Tomb of the Blessed Virgin, and the}* were only allowed to visit these shrines provided 
a payment was made for each visit. The French, Austrian and Venetian ambassadors, 
however, obtained in 1635 a firman repealing the expulsion; but, alas, two years after- 
wards, another firman again gave the sanctuaries to the Greeks. Such was the situation 
in 1673, when Louis XIV., having some diplomatic affairs to settle with the Sublime 
Porte, obtained from Muhammad IV. a firman reinstating the Franciscan guardians 
of the Holy Places, in their possessions. Once more, in 1676, the same perfidious Sultan 
granted another firman, declaring the Greeks sole proprietors of all sanctuaries in dis- 
pute. 

At last, however, Soliman III., in 1690, reinstated the Franciscans in full possession 
of their rights. This firman was confirmed several times afterward. On June 26, 
1699. Emperor Leopold inserted the eighteenth article in the treaty of Carlowitz, by 
which free possession of the sanctuaries was secured for the Franciscans. And the 
Sultan, in 1700. at the Emperor's request, confirmed this article by a firman. In the 
treaty of Passarowitz, 1718, the intersts of the Holy Land were considered, but, as 
always, more verbally than verily. The Marquis of Bonnac, French Ambassador at 
Constantinople, obtained in 1719a firman from the Porte, authorizing the Franciscans to 
put a new roof on the Church of the Nativity. Article thirty-three of the firman, obtained 
by Louis XIV., was examined by Louis XV. and Muhammad I., in 1740, and again 
confirmed. The following clause was inserted by the Sultan, to give more weight to 
the document: "All orders, past, or future, contrary to this present stipulation, must 
be regarded as null and void.'! This was certainly a formal text; but of what value is 
text or justice, or a binding oath, in Turkey? ... In spite of this clause, which 
guaranteed the rights of the Franciscans henceforth, the Greeks, in 1757, having stirred 
up more than one thousand pilgrims to riot, attacked the principal sanctuaries of 
Jerusalem and Bethlehem, and took possession of them, whilst they bribed the Grand 
Vizier, Regeeb-Pasha, with half a million piastres to obtain a firman, confirming them 
in their usurpations. M. de Vergennes, the French Ambassador, firmly objected, but 
the Grand Vizier insolently answered: "These places belong to my Master, the Sul- 
tan; he grants them to whom he pleases; and, though they have been in the hands of 
the Franks, his Highness orders that now they should be the property of the Greeks." 
It is true that the Ambassador afterwards secured a firman from Othman II. annulling 
the first one, but, as usual, this last firman remained without any effect. And ever since 
this time, the Franciscans have been deprived of the right of saying Holy Mass on the 
spot of Christ's Birth, and have also lost the Basilica of the Blessed Virgin Mary. As 
it is, the Franciscans have only a right of way through the choir of the Basilica, and 
possession of the key of its great door. These concessions were obtained in 1852, by 



460 



Bethlehem 



Napoleon III. The choir and transept are used by the Greek and Armenian Schis- 
matics, while the nave has been turned into a public promenade. 

Description. — The Basilica of the Nativity of our Lord Jesus Christ, or of St. 
Mary, at it is also called, is situated at the east end of Bethlehem and on the north slope 
•of the hill, on which the town stands. The Franciscan, Schismatic Greek, and Armenian 
Convents conceal in great part the exterior of the Basilica. A single narrow door 
is all that remains of the three doors that led into the porch of the Basilica. The porch 
runs across the entire width of the edifice, but is now divided into three parts and only 
a single door now .gives access from it to the Basilica. On entering the latter, one 



I 




BETHLEHEM— CHURCHi.OF THE NATIVITY 



is struck with the proportions of the nave, with double aisles on either side of it, and 
its four rows of monolithic columns, of red tinted stone veined like marble. The 
nave and aisles are now cut off from the transepts and choir by a partition wall, erected 
in 1842 by the Schismatics. Three doors, however, are open in this partition. 
The nave is 107 feet long. The open woodwork roof dates from the seventeenth 
century. There are some remains of the ancient mosaics in the higher parts of the 
nave, dating back to the twelfth century. At its west end, on either side, are two iron 
doors, one leading into the Franciscan, the other into the Greek Convent. The 
latter is on the south side, and near it is a font, popularly attributed to St. Helena, 
on which there is an inscription in Greek: "In memory of him whose name the Lord 



Bethlehem 



461 



knows, for the peace of his soul and the pardon of his sins." The nave and transepts 
each measure thirty-two feet in width. The church has the form of a Latin cross. 
The central portion of the floor of the choir is two feet higher than the rest of the church 
and under it is the Grotto of the Nativity. 

The Holy Grotto is entered from the north side of the choir of the Basilica by a 
descent of sixteen steps. Another flight of thirteen steps descends from the south side 
of the choir. The entrance door is of brass. 

On April 25. 1873. three hundred Greek Schismatics, armed with swords, pistols 
and muskets, burst into the grotto and broke or carried off all that was of value in it. 




BETHLEHEM— CHURCH OF THE NATIVITY 



Five Franciscans praving there, tried to stop the havoc, but were ill-treated, wounded, 
and rendered helpless to prevent the sacrilegious destruction of all the grotto contained. 
By the energetic intervention of M. Patrimonio. the French Consul, and under the care 
of the Most Rev. Anthony de Tivoli, then Custos of the Holy Land, by the summer of 
1874, the various things carried away or destroyed were replaced, and the tapestry that 
now adorns the walls was sent as a gift from the French Republic. No indemnity was 
ever paid by the Greek community for the wanton destruction wrought by its disciples. 
It is only since 1757 that the Greeks have made these violent attempts to seize on the 
Holy Places. 

Both the Greek and Armenian Schismatics have obtained from the Turkish author- 
ities leave to burn lamps and to celebrate a daily Mass on the spot of our Lord's Nativ- 



462 



Bethlehem 



ity. The Fathers of the Holy Land are only allowed to celebrate a high and low Mass 
daily in the grotto, and may not celebrate at the altar of the Nativity. 

The Holy Grotto is almost entirely natural, formed in a ridge of soft limestone. 
The roof, perhaps, is artificial. It is thirty-nine feet long and from ten to twelve feet 
wide. It is paved with white marble flags, and the walls are covered with the same 
variety of marble, There are three doors, but no windows, and the Grotto is lighted by 
fifty-three lamps, of which nineteen are kept burning by the Franciscans. These 
lamps are mostly suspended from the roof. 

St. Helena's work at Bethlehem is thus attested by Eusebius: 




CHRISTMAS AT BETHLEHEM 



"And forthwith she dedicated two temples to the God whom she worshipped, 
one at the Cave of the Nativity, and the other on the Mount of the Ascension. For 
He who was God with us submitted for our sakes to be born under ground, and the 
place of His birth was called by the Hebrews Bethlehem. Wherefore the most pious 
Empress adorned the scene of the travail of the Mother of God with rare monuments, 
beautifying in every way this sacred cave; and shortly afterward the Emperor also 
honored it with imperial offerings, with treasures of gold and silver, and with em- 
broidered curtains, thus enhancing the artistic designs of his mother. 

The place where our Lord is supposed to have been born is under a sort of apse, 
and is covered with white marble, in which a circular opening, surrounded by a silver 



Bethlehem 



463 



star, permits one to see underneath a blue stone, perhaps jasper. A silver star has been 
affixed here at least since 1717. In 1847, i* was stolen by Greek Schismatics. Re- 
placed in 1852. they again sought to carry it away in 1873. since which date, by request 
of the French consul, a Turkish sentinel has been placed on guard in the Grotto. Around 
the star is engraved the following inscription: 

Hie de Virgine Maria Jesus Christus natus est. 

Here Jesus Christ was born of the Virgin Mar}". 
Fifteen lamps are kept burning night and day near the ground around the apse. 
Of these four belong to the Latins, five to the Armenians, and six to the Greek Schis- 




PLACE OF THE NATIVITY — BETHLEHEM 



matics. Over the spot the Schismatics place a table, at which they say Mass. Three 
paces to the southwest of this there are three steps leading down to the Chapel of the 
Crib, hewn in the rock, its roof covered with drapery, its north and northwest sides 
supported bv three ancient columns of marble. This chapel is only ten feet long and 
seven feet broad. 

White marble, and a picture of the Infant Jesus adorn the bottom wall of the re- 
cess, before which five lamps burn continually. The east end of the chapel is occupied 
by the Altar of the Wise Men. 

In the southwest comer near the door of the Grotto is a Round Hole said 
to mark the place where a miraculous spring supplied the Holy Family with water. 
Passing through the same door, we enter a series of underground grottos by a small 



464 



Bethlehem 



passage through the rock. The first grotto we reach is called the Chapel of St. Joseph, 
constructed in 162 1, in the rock by the Right Rev. Thomas of Novara, Custos of 
the Holy Land. The altar is dedicated to the Flight into Egypt. Behind it is a master- 
piece painted at Cologne, representing the Flight. The picture is covered with wire- 
work, to prevent the natives passing their hands over it, as they otherwise would, and 
then, out of reverence, kissing their hands that have touched the holy object. 

From the Chapel of St. Joseph, five steps lead down into the Chapel of the Holy 
Innocents. Tradition relates that here many of the mothers of Bethlehem hid 




THE "CRIB" AT BETHLEHEM 

okhers of Herod discovered the hiding place, and massacred the 



their children, but the 
children. 

A picture over the altar represents the massacre. Under the altar is a small cav- 
ity in the rock, known as the Tomb of the Innocents, for their bodies are said to have 
been buried there. This cavity is about six feet seven inches in width and about three 
feet in length. It is only opened on their feast. To continue our visit to these grottos, 
we move on north, leaving on our left, the staircase leading to St. Catharine's Church. 
Passing through a narrow passage and down two steps, we come on the right to the 
Altar of St. Eusebius of Cremona built over his tomb. He was the friend of St. 
Jerome, and sold all he had to aid the latter to found a monastery in Bethlehem. He 
succeeded St. Jerome as its superior, and died in 422. We come next to the Chapel of 
Tombs, hewn entirely in the rock. 



Bethlehem 



465 



On the east side is an altar over the tomb of St. Paula and St. Eustoehium 
her daughter, descendants of the Gracchi and Scipios. St. Paula, after the death of 
her husband. Toxtius who belonged to the Julii, had no other ambition than to devote 
herself to the service of her Divine Master. Speaking Hebrew and Greek, she studied 
Holv Writ under St. Jerome, and distributed all her wealth to the poor, and with 
her daughter, came to found monasteries at Bethlehem. She died in 404 ; her daughter 
succeeded her as superior, and died fifteen years later. They were the friends of St. 
Jerome. In the west wall of this chapel we see an altar built over the Tomb of St. 
Jerome. After his conversion, he spent eleven years in the Syrian desert. Hav- 
ing been ordained priest, he visited Palestine, and conceived a desire to spend the rest 
of his life in Bethlehem. He returned thither towards the end of the fourth century, 
founded a monaster}.", and spent his days in directing the various houses of pious men 
and women who flocked to Bethlehem, and his nights, for the greater part, in study. 
He died in 420, and his body was laid in this grotto, whence it was taken to Rome and 
placed in the Liberian Basilica. 

A door on the north side of this chapel opens into St. Jerome's Oratory, so called 
because it is said to have been the place where the great Doctor of the Church spent his 
time in study and prayer. ' ' 

It is evident that we have here a congeries of legends illustrating the tendency of 
the Oriental mind to localize events in definite places. What can be more stupid than 
to try to circumscribe by inches the spot where the Son of God was born ? Though the 
extrinsic authority of the Grotto is strong, I believe that the Gospel account renders 
the authenticity of this cave impossible. ' The very nature of the natural formation 
shows that in its original form it could not have been a stable. Its floor is several feet 
below the surrounding rock; and there is no sign of an original entrance where beasts 
could have entered. Moreover, while we grant that caves are used in the East for 
shelter of beasts; it seems improbable that the stable of the public inn of Bethlehem 
was a cave. This is confirmed by the fact that the ancient Bethlehem was farther north- 
east; and this Grotto was outside the ancient city. The modern city has grown up 
around the Grotto. The inn and the stable of ancient Bethlehem were certainly in 
the city. The present grotto must always have been a deep hole in the soft rock 
ramifying into small connected chambers in the soft rock. 

Even in the present wretched conditions of the land, I have never seen a public 
stable in any city or village made of a cave. Did the public inn of the Roman Bethle- 
hem stable the beasts of its patrons in a hole in the earth? Would not the Evangelist 
have drawn attention to this fact if such were true ? We believe that this cave should 
share the fate of so many other spurious caves of the Holy Land; the traditionalists 
here are all troglodytes. 

The devotion of Bethlehem rests on the sure fact that Christ was born in this 
portion of the land; that on these hillsides the first •' Glory to God in the Highest" 
was sung ; not on the tradition of the cave. 

As on ordinary days, the Franciscans have the right of only two Masses at the 
manger, I could not say Mass at that altar. I said my Mass at 6:15 at the altar dedi- 
cated to St. Jerome. 

The day is clear and beautiful. Quite a number of American priests came out 
this morning from Jerusalem, and it was very pleasant to meet them here. The Fran- 
ciscans gave us the finest hospitality. 

We returned to Jerusalem at 4:00 p. m. 



466 



Life at Jerusalem 



The temperature at 9:00 p. m. is 45 Fahrenheit. 

March 10th. — To-day according to the Roman Calendar is the feast of Jesus crowned 
with thorns. It is the great feast of the Sisters of Sion at the Arch of the Ecce Homo. 
I said Mass there at 6:30 a. m. The auxiliary bishop of Jerusalem Mgr. Piccardo said 
Mass there at 7:15. A great number of priests said Mass there this morning. The 
chapel is rich and beautiful. The great stones of the ancient Roman construction are 
built into the chapel in various ways. The main altar is largely made of these great 
blocks. Some of them are the furrowed blocks of the Roman paved street. Cer- 
tainty here mingles with uncertainty. We are certain that this chapel is on the site 
of some great Roman building, built near the paved Roman street; we are uncertain 
whether Jesus was here brought before Pilate. The work of digging Palestine out of 
its grave which centuries covered over it, progresses slowly, and imperfectly. Future 
generations may be able to render an accurate judgment upon these questions which 
we must leave unanswered. 

The day is fair; temperature at 8:00 a. m. 49 Fahrenheit. 

At two o'clock the temperature had risen to 57 Fahrenheit. 

March nth. — Clouds gathered during the night, and at 6:00 a. m. it began to rain. 
This rain has not the disagreeable feature of cold, as had the winter rains. The ther- 
mometer at 8:00 a. m. registers 50 Fahrenheit. 

This morning I said Mass at 6:00 a. m. at the Grotto of the Agony. It is the nearest 
chapel to Gethsemane, and it is easy there to recall the scenes in the life of Jesus which 
in Gethsemane took place. It would be absurd to circumscribe the real Gethsemane 
by the narrow limits of the present Franciscan garden. Gethsemane was situated just 
across the Kidron at the base of the mountain of Olives. The present garden of the 
Franciscans was very probably a part of the original Gethsemane. The memories of 
that mysterious night in Jesus' life attach to the region here about; but no man can fix 
the circumscribed particular spot, where the events took place. 

After Mass I ascended to the top of the Mount of Olives. Its slope is desolate and 
lonely. It is the shame of Christianity that there is no sanctuary on this Mount worthy 
of the character of the mount. 

It remained cloudy and threatening up to five o'clock, when an extremely heavy 
rain set in. 

I again visited the great model of the Temple made by Schick. Allowing for all 
the imperfections of the work, and rejecting a great deal of the architecture, the work 
still deserves to be closely studied. 

March 12th. — Mass at the chapel of the Sceurs Reparatrices at 6:00 a. m. After 
Mass I accompanied a company of American priests to the traditional place of the 
Ascension on Mt. Olivet. They all said Mass there, and received hospitality of the 
Carmelites. I was glad to conduct these citizens of my land to that convent of Carmel- 
ites; for the priests were generous to the poor Carmelite nuns, who sadly need help. 

It rained during a portion of the forenoon, but at ten o'clock it was again fair; 
temperature at noon 52 Fahrenheit. 

About the middle of the afternoon a heavy rain set in, and it has rained heavily 
at intervals the rest of the day. At 9:00 p. m. it is still raining; temperature 57 Fahren- 
heit. 

March 13th. — A morning of gloom and of heavy rain has dawned after a stormy 
night. The temperature at 6:00 a. m. is 43 Fahrenheit. 
I said Mass at St. Etienne at 6:00 a. m. 



The Csxactlvm 



467 



It has been a 'da y of rain and gloom. The rain and the mud render it impossible 
c: visit any of "he places of inierest. There is nothing else here to relieve the dull 
cold ~ or: tony ani near-ires; :f -his wretched land. 

The thermometer at ::oo p. m. registered 43° Fahrenheit. 

March 14th. — Mass at St. Eiienne at 6:00 a. m. The rain has ceased, hut broken 
clouds trouble the sunlight. Temperature at 8:00 a. m. 44° Fahrenheit. 

Though at lines the sir." appeared threatening, the dav passed without rain. At 
3:00 p. us. Pere Vincent conducted us to the Ccenaculum. 

The Coenaeulum, now occupied by the Mosque of Xehv Dahid. stands on the south- 




THE C<EXACTJXT3![ OX MT- SIOX 



em brow of Mount Zion, and its rninaret is a conspicuous object on the southern road. 
The tradition attaching to the site is two fold: ( 1 ) that David and the other " R ings of 
Judah were buried here; (2) that here was situated the Upper Chamber, where 
the Last Supper w^s held, and where the disciples were gathered together on the 
Day of Pentecost. The tradition in each case dates at least as far back as the middle 
:t the fourth centurv. when it is mentioned bv Cyril. The existing building consists 
of a chamber, with a crypt beneath. These are the remains of a Franciscan church 
iuilt ir_ 1554 tn the ruin; of a former Crusading chapel. The crypt is divided intc two 
rooms, in the west one of which "the washing of feet" formerly took place. 
The east chamber contains a cenotaph over the supposed place where David was buried. 



468 



The Ccenaculum 



The pointed arches and groined roof of the crypt are Crusading work. The chamber 
above measures forty-five feet by twenty-nine feet, and is divided into two aisles by 
columns standing over the western pillars of the crypt. Half-columns, in a line with 
the former, stand against the end walls. In this chamber is another cenotaph, over 
the one below, and this is generally shown as David's tomb. The double cenotaph re- 
minds one of a similar one at Hebron, bearing Joseph's name. The architecture of the 
chamber is Gothic, and dates from the fourteenth century. 

In 1 561, the Franciscan monks were expelled from the Ccenaculum under the 
following circumstances: A Jew of wealth and influence visited Jerusalem, and begged 
permission to pray at the tomb of David. The Latins refused. The Jew threatened 
revenge, and on his return to Constantinople rebuked the Grand Vizier for his indiffer- 
ence to the tomb of one of the great prophets of Islam, in permitting it to remain 
in the hand of the Nazarenes. His representations, aided by bribes, had the desired 
effect ; and the Franciscans were driven from their convent. They are still permitted 
to visit the Ccenaculum at stated times; and here the Latin monks formerly practised 
the washing of pilgrims' feet on Maundy Thursday, in commemoration of that incident 
in Scripture history which they believe to have been enacted in this chamber (St. John 
xiii. 5). 

In 1902 Don. J. Marta, a priest of the Latin Patriarchate of Jerusalem found a 
text of Peter of Sebaste ( + 392) a brother of St Basil the Great, which text is as follows : 
"The church of the holy Mount of Zion testifies that the Messiah ate the Passover in the 
upper room the day of the Passover of the Jews." 

However, the early tradition was not uniform. The Pilgrim of Bordeaux, St. 
Silvia, Saint Paula, Eucherius, the Breviary of Jerusalem, and Antoninus Martyr 
localize the descent of the Holy Ghost on Zion ; but are silent concerning the Eucharist. 
Theodosius places the last Supper in the cave on the Mount of Olives. 

In 670 Arculphus declares that he venerated the place of the Last Supper in the 
great Basilika of Pentecost, and since his time the tradition of the Ccenaculum has been 
constant. 

It is evident therefore that an early tradition located here the descent of the Holv 
Ghost; and later the tradition of the Last Supper was merged into it. Topographically 
considered the place is well chosen for both events ; I believe that they both happened 
in the same house; but there is not positive evidence that the present Ccenaculum is 
the site of these events. 

The lower part of the present Ccenaculum is the harem of the wives of the imams 
of the Mosque of Omar; and no one is admitted there. Mrs. Barclay the wife of a 
famous American consul was once admitted. 

"We entered into the upper part of the present mosque. It is a small room re- 
markable in nothing except the memory which tradition has located here. In a second 
room through an iron grating one sees a large catafalque covered with dirty drapery. 
This is the upper grave of David. Passing around to the rear we entered a small 
Turkish cemetery from whence we could see portions of the ancient Byzantine church. 
We then visited the so called House of Caiphas the possession of the Schismatic Armeni- 
ans. Thence we visited the beautiful church which the German Catholics are building 
on ground given by Kaiser Wilhelm near the Ccenaculum. It is built in honor of the 
death of the Blessed Virgin Mary which a tradition places here. Thence we went to the 
house of Annas, also in the possession of the Schismatic Armenians. It is within the 
walls not far from the Ccenaculum. The Armenians have here a large portion of land. 



Bethlehem 



469 



The church built on this traditional house of Annas is small and dingy. Here also a 
prison of Christ is shown. Nearby in the possession of these same Armenians is the 
Church of St. James, the outcome of a baseless tradition. Farther down the street 
that leads eastward to the bazaar is the Church of St. Thomas the Apostle, now a ruin 
into which it is difficult to enter. , Jerusalem is an unweeded garden of false traditions 
and extravagant legends. For instance there is shown in the rear of the prison of 
Christ at the house of Annas an olive tree declared to be the tree to which Christ was 
bound. In the wall is shown "the stone which was rejected by the builders." 
At 9:00 p. m. the temperature is 44 Fahrenheit. 

March 15th. — Mass at 6:15 a. m. at the altar of the Crucifixion on the traditional 
Calvary.' The morning is fair; temperature at 6:00 a. m. 43 Fahrenheit. 

The day remained beautiful. At 2:30 p. m. I set out for Bethlehem with several 
priests of the United States. The ride out to Bethlehem was very pleasant. We 
arrived at 4:00 p. m. We first visited the Grotto of the Nativity, and then spent the 
rest of the afternoon buying religious articles. We retired early. 

March 16th. — The first Mass was at 3:00 a. m. and from that hour the Masses fol- 
lowed in unbroken succession until 6:30 a. m. when the Greeks took possession of the 
Grotto. ' After the Greek pilgrims had venerated the Grotto, another Mass was cele- 
brated by a Franciscan Father, and then the Armenians took possession of the Grotto. 
The Armenians are few in number at Bethlehem, and they do not occupy much time 
in the Grotto. After they had finished, the priests of the Latin rite again begin their 
Masses. This is the regular order of the rites. 

A curious illustration of the Christian spirit of the various rites at Bethlehem was 
narrated to me by a Franciscan Brother at Bethlehem. The Armenian chapel is near 
the Franciscan entrance to the Grotto. They were given exclusive right to a portion 
bounded by a carpet along whose edge the Franciscans had the right of way to pass to 
the Grotto. A few years ago it was noticed that every day the Armenian carpet grew 
broader, encroaching on the Franciscans' right of way. In time it would have covered 
the whole space. Here Greek met Greek. One night the Franciscans cut the carpet 
away for a considerable space. A great cry was raised by the Armenians. The Turk- 
ish authorities were appealed to ; but the Franciscans assembled a body of their men, 
citizens of the different countries of Europe, and threatened to appeal to their consuls; 
the affair was dropped, and the carpet ceased to grow. 

After our Masses we mounted the terrace of the Franciscan Convent, whence a 
fine view is had of the so called shepherds' field, and of all the environs of Bethlehem. 
Next we visited the Milk-grotto. 

The tradition attached to this spot is so absurd that the whole affair should be 
condemned by the Church. Devotion to the Mother of God is right; but it should not 
take this form. I shall never forget my feelings as the ignorant Franciscan brother 
offered some little balls of the white earth to some Protestants ; who looked on in pity 
at the ignorance of this Catholic tradition. 

We returned to Jerusalem for dinner . 

After noon we visited the grave of the Blessed Virgin, Gethsemane, and the Mount 
of Olives. The day was beautiful, a summer day. At 9:00 p. m. the temperature is 
48 Fahrenheit. 

March 17th. — Mass at 6:15 a. m. at St. Etienne. The morning is beautiful; tem- 
perature at 7:30 a. m. 47 Fahrenheit. 



470 



Life at Jerusalem 



At noon the temperature rose to 6i° Fahrenheit. The sky remained cloudless. 
At 9:00 p. m. the temperature is 52 Fahrenheit. 

March 18th. — Mass at St. Etienne at 6:15 a. m. The morning is slightly cloudy; 
temperature at 6:00 a. m. 52 Fahrenheit. 

At 2:00 p. m. the temperature was 65 Fahrenheit. 

In the afternoon I again visited the Haram es-Sherif. At one's first visit there is 




THE MILK GROTTO 



apt to remain in one's mind a certain confusion. To-day things were clearer to me 
than at my first visit. The day has been beautiful; at 9:00 p. m. the thermometer 
registers 55 Fahrenheit. 

March 19th. — Mass at Chapel of Pei-petual Adoration at 8:00 a. m. The morning 
is cloudy; temperature at 6:00 a. m. 55 Fahrenheit. The day remained cloudy and 
windy; at noon the temperature was the same as at 6:00 a. m. 

March 20th. — Mass at St. Etienne at 6 a. m. The morning is cloudy; temperature 
at 7 a. m., 48 Fahrenheit. 



Life at Jerusalem 



471 



A cold disagreeable wind prevailed all day. Broken clouds scudded across the sky 
driven by the wind. At 2 p. m. the temperature was 59 Fahrenheit. 
At 9 p. m., a little rain fell, and during the night it rained. 

March 21st. — The morning is windy and cloudy. I said Mass at the Holy Sepul- 
chre at 5.45 a. m. Admitting that it is not and can not be the place of the Resurrec- 
tion of Christ, it is a fitting place to venerate the Resurrection. It is an altar in Jeru- 
salem dedicated to the Resurrection of Christ; that is a sufficient basis for the great 
devotion paid to Christ in it. It has received the homage of ages, and still receives 
it. We are drawn to it even while we are persuaded that it is not the tomb of Christ. 
The historical associations which cling to it give it a certain sacred character independ- 
ent of its authenticity. It is certainly the place where Christ receives more worship 
and intenser worship than at any other altar in the world. 

Intermittent heavy rains continued throughout the day. The highest temper- 
ature of the day was only 45 Fahrenheit. 

March 22nd. — High wind and heavy rain prevailed all last night. The dwellers 
of this land have never before seen so much rain. The thermometer at 6 a. m. registers 
43 Fahrenheit. I said Mass this morning at St. Etienne. At 7.30 a. m. the rain 
ceased, and a faint ray of sunlight reached us through a rift in the clouds. 

Another day of intermittent heavy rain, and tantalizing snatches of sunshine. The 
strong wind continues, and while it continues, there is no hope of fine weather. The 
highest temperature of the day was 50 Fahrenheit. 

The sun which momentarily visited us in the morning soon left us. Frequent 
showers sometimes mixed with hail prevailed all day. Towards evening the rain 
increased in violence. The strong wind continues. Even in the torrents of rain we 
visited the Mount of Olives, and all its holy places. We even ascended to the first 
landing of the Russian Tower. The high wind rendered a higher ascent inadvisable. 
The temperature at 9 p. m. is 43 Fahrenheit. 

March 23rd.— Mass at St. Etienne at 6 a. m. Last night was tempestuous, and 
the morning brought no abatement of the storm. They all say that such a storm is 
unusual here at this season. The temperature at 7 a. m. is 42 Fahrenheit. 

After these months spent here, I am thus resolved. If residence here brought one 
nearer to Christ ; if in any way the outpouring of divine grace was fuller here than else- 
where, for that sole motive, I could be content to live and suffer here. But since we 
know that Christ fills the whole world, that he is as close to the dwellers of the New 
World as to those who dwell in Gethsemane ; that his dwelling among men here gave 
this land no pre-eminence over those of other parts of the world, I shall be happy at 
the end of my appointed sojourn here, to leave this land of misery. It is well to come 
here to refresh the realization of Christ within us by visiting these places where he 
lived and died. But we can take with us this realization, and serve Christ as well in 
our own country as here. 

Aeolus reigned in this land to-day, and Jupiter's rain -barrel was opened. 
My spirits are depressed by the unceasing wind and rain. The highest temperature 
of to-day was 48 Fahrenheit; at 9 p. m. it is 44 Fahrenheit. 

A party of English people came here to-day to visit St. Etienne. It was such a 
pleasure to meet them, to talk to them, to hear the dignified accents of the English 
tongue instead of the abominable chatter of the French, which always reminds me 
of the language of Pluto in Dante's Inferno. 



472 



The American Colony 



Years ago I came to Italy without the least knowledge of the Italian language. 
I loved their language from the first. My experience was the same with the German 
language. But I can never love the nasal grunts and half articulated sounds of the 
French. Their enormous egotism, lightness of character, and tendency to turn things 
to ridicule heighten the disgust of everything French. The typical Frenchman 
believes that what is not French is of little worth. 

March 24th. — Mass at the altar of the Sorrows of Mary on the traditional Calvary. 
The morning dawned cloudy, but the rain had ceased. The temperature at 6 a. m. 
was 44 Fahrenheit. At 8 o'clock the sun made its welcome appearance but the heavens 
are still filled with clouds. 

The day remained cloudy and cold. At midday the thermometer struggled up 
to 50 Fahrenheit. At 9 p. m. the temperature is 46 Fahrenheit. 

March 25th. — Mass at 6.15 a. m. at St. Etienne. Rain and clouds have passed 
away, and the glad sunlight gladdens all nature. Temperature at 7. 30 a. m., 51 
Fahrenheit. 

The day remained hazy, but still the sun shone all day. The highest temperature 
was 66° Fahrenheit; at 9 p. m. it is 52 Fahrenheit. 

My afternoon recreation consisted of a walk down to Gethsemane, a meditation 
in the Garden, and an ascent to the top of the Mount of Olives. 

To-day Mr. Dinslow of the American colony here at Jerusalem called on me to 
decipher the Greek inscription on an ancient terra cotta lamp. The inscription was 
abbreviated and barbarously written, but finally I interpreted it to read: "The 
light of Christ shineth upon all beautifully." 

After the decipherment of the inscription, I ascertained from him the following 
facts about the colonv: 

In 1875, Mr. Spafford, a lawyer of Chicago, became convinced that the great 
law of Christ was not being reproduced in the different religious denominations. He 
therefore began a movement to group together some persons of like views with the 
intention of living in practical life the law of Christ. In 1881, Mr. Spafford and family 
and ten other persons came to Jerusalem, and entered into residence here. They num- 
bered fourteen souls. At first they held that marriage was an abomination; for their 
rule adopted the rule of absolute celibacy. They also at first believed that to receive 
or retain money was wrong; and they would accept no money for their labor. All 
things were in common. They depended upon the Providence of God for their sus- 
tenance, and upon a personal inspiration of the Holy Ghost to show them the path of 
duty. They rejected all religious forms and rites; and took the Bible as their doc- 
trinal and moral law. They considered the rite of Baptism by water as only a sign, 
no longer necessary for those who can realize the spiritual birth. The sign was neces- 
sary in the beginning, but now no longer so; since men are able now to grasp the spir- 
itual truth of the new birth. 

They soon saw the folly of their views on marriage, and now hold that the Holy 
Ghost has shown them that marriage is lawful and holy, provided its aim be not the 
gratification of lust. They have also abandoned their Manichaean ideas on the sub- 
ject of money and property in general. They now engage in business; and in fact the 
American Colony store near the Jaffa Gate is one of the largest and best equipped 
stores in Jerusalem. Though nominally called the store of Vester 8c Co., it belongs to 
the Community, as everything is possessed in common. In the aforesaid store one 



The American Colony 



473 



may find objects of devotion, rich rugs, furniture, Oriental ware of all kinds, and even 
sweets of excellent quality. 

The Colony now numbers about a hundred souls. They all work at whatever 
they are adapted for. The women spin, weave, and sew, and are very industrious. 
Thev eat in common, and live in common. The marriage bond is held sacred. The)- 
rent two houses at Jerusalem ; one up on the rocks within the walls, a little east of the 
Damascus Gate; the other near the so-called Tombs of the Kings. Every morning at 
eight o'clock they have religious worship, which consists in reading the Bible and com- 
menting on it as the Spirit is believed to move each one. They aim to reproduce the 
life of the earliest Christians who possessed all things in common, and who received the 
Charismata of the Holy Ghost. " 

The American Colony has been bitterly opposed, especially by the American 
Consul, Dr. Merrill. This is not strange. Dr. Merrill is himself a clergyman of one of 
the sects of the Protestant Church. His chief business in Jerusalem is in looking after 
the interests of the Protestant missions here. Naturally he is not in sympathy with 
an association which declares the sects to be effete. In effect the American Colony is 
one of those meteoric crystallizations of religious thought which has thrown off sub- 
jection to the proper religious authority instituted by Christ. In professing to follow 
Christ they contradict Christ ; for Christ certainly established the principle of religious 
authority in the world. They have no organization, no head, no principle of authority; 
they depend solely upon the presumption that the Holy Ghost will inspire each one 
with the right knowledge of his duty, and the will to perform it. It is remarkable that 
they have gone on as long as they have without disruption. It can only be explained 
by the fact that they were in this strange land, away from the influences so powerful 
in our country; and also that the first founders are still living. The end must come 
in the course of time. Their principles are false, and they will grow tired of their un- 
natural state of life. I declare that I believe that thus far they have lived moral and 
honest lives; and I regret that they have been duped to embrace this novel form of 
religion. 

Many of the colonists are Swedes who have come thither from Sweden or from 
America. In the issue of March 15, 1905, of the Jamptlandsposten of Sweden, Mr. 
Walles describes a visit to the American Colony. Amongst other things he speaks 
as follows: — 

"Afterwards I had a conversation with one of the Americans about the evil reports 
which the enemies of the Colonists had spread abroad. The worst of these enemies 
is the American Consul, formerly a minister of the Gospel. Secretly he spreads these 
awful stories, saying that the Colonists live a wicked life, but as soon as he is asked 
or spoken to about it, he denies having said it. A trustworthy person who, from the 
Consul's own lips had heard these stories, was asked to write them down, which he did, 
and put his name to the statement, testifying that these were the Consul's own words. 
I saw a copy of this, and indeed they were terrible things he had said about the Colony. 
The Consul had also introduced this person to some one who formerly had belonged 
to the Colony, but had left, saying this one would confirm what he, the Consul, had 
said. But this former Colonist, when asked, knowing that he had to give a truthful 
answer, had nothing to say only that he had become tired of living that life which the 
Colonists live. Not one having left the Colony could say anything against the life, 
only that they had left because they got tired, and that is not surprising, because all 
do not endure. I heard the Swedish Consul once express himself in a confidential 



474 



The American Colony 



conversation concerning the Colonists. He was rather doubtful as to their opinions, 
but knew nothing evil whatever about their lives, and the American Consul he did 
not hold responsible for what he said." 

In the same issue of the same paper Mr. Hugo Wedin contributes the following: — 

' ' In regard to the so-called Swedish Colony in Jerusalem the undersigned would 
kindly ask for space for the following, hoping it might interest the Swedes in general. 

Whilst traveling in the Orient, I visited Jerusalem, and during a stay there lasting 
for some time, I had an opportunity of acquainting myself with the above-mentioned 
colony. On my way there from Egypt I met different persons of various nationalities 
who spoke of things more or less unfavorable against the colony. Especially repre- 
sentatives of different religions spoke harshly against them; in particular one woman, 
a missionary, laboring for many years in Jerusalem in the interest of a large missionary 
society in one of the chief states. She spoke of the Colony being full of people ' ' morally 
corrupt," and advised me in the most emphatic way not to visit them; this operated 
in the reverse way, and intensified the desire for my seeing the very spot, and with my 
own eyes convincing myself of the actual facts. I was very kindly received by my 
countrymen in the colony and got a very excellent impression of the diligence, con- 
tentment, and the admirable habits that prevailed among this interesting and co- 
operative community — the very reverse of what the above mentioned people informed 
me. What concerns their beliefs is their own private affair. 

I have determined to impart this information in the interest of justice and truth, 
as a warning against believing rumors of this kind, for doubtless such reports find their 
way even to Sweden. Through the experience that I had during my sojourn in Jeru- 
salem, I could readily understand how these unfounded attacks arose, as there can 
scarcely be found another place in the world where gossip and intolerance against 
"those-of-different-opinion," so flourish, as at the grave of Christ! Mirabile dictu! 

Respectfully yours, 

Hugo Wedin" 

Bovai, Orvieto, Italy, March 8, 1905. 



On Aug. 22, 1904 the members of the American Colony wrote to the Editor of the 
aforesaid Swedish paper setting forth the principles of the Community. 

Jerusalem, Aug. 22, 1900. 

Dr. V. Hugo Wickstrom, Ostersund. 
Dear Friend: — 

Having read in several Swedish papers about the wedding we had here in 
the Colony a few months ago, and seeing that quite misleading reasons for it have 
been given, we will try to give vou a short explanation as to why we now marry, where- 
as we formerly did not. 

The reason for our uniting and forming this assembly, as you know, was because 
we saw the rottenness of the Christian teaching with which we had come in contact 
which consisted only in preaching to others how to live and do, without any one show- 
ing the least proof that he practised towards his neighbour what he insisted should 
be done to himself. We further saw how man, ever since the fall, had taken and en- 
joyed everything which God had created in the world for the flesh and its lusts, with- 
out caring whether it was right or wrong — according to God's will or not — so long 
as his wants were gratified. That was all he cared for. When we got our eyes opened 
to this fact, whitewashed Christianity became disgusting to us, and we set ourselves 



Life at Jerusalem 



475 



to live a life where our words and deeds agreed, and where God's will should be done 
and not our own. 

Feeling ourselves as little children who do not know good from bad, we did not 
dare in the beginning, to do this or that for fear of doing it in the wrong way. We 
came together to study God's word; to get to know his will and plan with man. We 
sold all that we had, and lived as one family, and shared with the poor and needy 
what we had, cared for the sick and worked for others without pay, as we did not dare 
to work for compensation before we had given God proof that we had full confidence 
that he would care for our material welfare, if we only showed our trust in him and 
sought his righteousness. 

When we had lived together in this way for fourteen years, and knew that we had 
given God faith, and learned all he had for us under such circumstances, and resisted 
all temptations that such a life would entail, then we felt we could work for our living 
and earn money; and in this way we now have gradually, step by step, so far as we have 
learned the lessons, taken up again what we have dropped in the beginning, in order 
to apply what we had learned through this training in our different spheres of occupa- 
tion. 

Therefore we now have horses and carriages, cattle and various industries and 
branches of business; and we know that God wants all that has been misused to be 
turned into the right channel and used according to his will and idea. Hence when 
we came so far as to understand matrimony and God's intentions in that, we entered 
into that step also. This is the reason that we now marry and do things which in the 
beginning we dared not touch. 

March 26th. — Mass at the Chapel of the Sceurs Reparatrices at 8 a. m. The morn- 
ing is beautiful; the sky is hazy; but the sunlight is warm and pleasant. 

A great blow has fallen upon the Biblical School of St. Etienne. Rev. Pere 
Vincent, our eminent archaeologist has broken down in health. The physicans have 
forbidden him to do any work. His lungs are weak. 

To-day a sirocco has prevailed. The highest temperature of the day was 75 
Fahrenheit. The atmosphere is heavy with humidity, and towards evening thick 
murky clouds OA r ercast the sky. At 9 p. m. the temperature is 65 Fahrenheit. 

March 27th. — Mass at St. Etienne at 6 a. m. The morning is cloudy; temperature 
at 7 a. m., 6i° Fahrenheit. 

The day remained cloudy and sultry. The clouds kept down the temperature; 
its highest point was 69 Fahrenheit. 

As may be seen from my diary, there has been here no spring. Full summer 
heat followed close upon the cold rainy season. 

At 6 p. m. the sirocco brought up such a dense cloud of dust upon Jerusalem 
that objects a few yards distant were indiscernible. A few drops of rain followed. 
At 9 p. m. the temperature is 59 Fahrenheit. 

March 28th. — Mass at St. Etienne at 6 a. m. The sirocco has subsided; the morn 
is calm and partially cloudy. The temperature at 7 a. m. is 52 Fahrenheit. 

The day remained partially cloudy and cool. At midday it was pleasant to sit 
in the direct rays of the sun. At 9 p. m. the temperature is 51 Fahrenheit, and it 
is lightly raining. 

March 29th. — A strong wind prevailed during the night, and at daybreak it began 
to rain. This rain continued intermittently all the forenoon. At 6.45 a. m. we set 
out for Bethlehem, where we arrived at eight o'clock. At 8.45 a. m. I said Mass in 



476 



Life at Jerusalem 



the Grotto of the Nativity. After Mass we again visited the objects of interest at Beth- 
lehem. Each time that I go over the ground I find something new. To-day I found 
in the little garden of the Franciscans in the rear a withered and splintered trunk of 
an orange tree. The trunk seems totally dead; and yet some of the branches were 
loaded with oranges. The tradition is that it was planted by St. Jerome. We visited 
the site of the new Leper Hospital which is being built at Bethlehem. A pious French 
widow purchased the ground with her private fortune, and she is laboring now to secure 
funds to erect the hospital. She lives there in a little stone house. The work which 
she has undertaken is much needed. 

On the way out just on the border of the village we visited the traditional David's 
well. It is a large cistern within a walled portion of ground owned by the FrancScans. 
It is supposed that from this source of water the soldiers brought the water to David. 

The total absurdity of this tradition moves even the Franciscans to keep silent 
concerning it, except when asked to show it. 

We returned to Jerusalem at 2.30 p. m. The rain ceased at noon. At 6 p. m. 
I gained access to the famous Calvary of Gordon. It is an extensive knoll, now used as 
a Muslim cemetery. The side that faces the wall of Jerusalem just east of the Da- 
mascus Gate has been cut away in quarrying stone. Hence we cannot form an exact 
idea of its exact form in the time of Christ. To the eastward the hill comes down 
close to the road; but as one advances westward, the side of the hill curves deeply 
inward away from the road. In ancient times a road ran along to the north of the hill 
close to its highest point. 

This hill is a possible site of the Crucifixion; the traditional site is an impossible 

one. 

The Calvary of Gordon has been made ridiculous by some of those who have sought 
to defend it. For instance, some have thought to see the sockets of the eyes and the 
jaws of the skull in the rocky side which faces the walls of Jerusalem. The absurdity 
of this imagination is revealed when we reflect that much of all that side of the hill 
has been quarried away since the days of Christ. 

But setting aside these absurd theories, the hill answers the requirements of the 
Gospel narrative better than any other site yet discovered. This is all that can be 
said for it. There is no testimony extant which gives it any intrinsic authority. 

The temperature at 9 p. m. is 48 F. 

March 30th. — Mass at St. Etienne at 6 a. m. The sky is cloudless; temperature 
at 7 a. m., 50 F. 

As the day progressed, clouds gathered, and these and the breeze tempered the 
heat. The highest temperature of the day was 6o° F. 

In the afternoon I went out and examined the so-called Tower of David and the 
land round about. At most one may grant that some of the lower stones of the north- 
east tower may be remains of Herod's tower Phasael. The view towards Bethlehem 
from the high ground south of the Jaffa gate is beautiful. The great plain of Rephaim 
is one great expanse of green grain fields. 

The temperature at 9 p. m. is 52 F. 

March 31st. — Mass on the traditional Calvary at 7 a. m. The day is fair and 
warm. The temperature at 6 a. m. was 50 F. 

The day remained cool; the highest temperature was 53 F. 

At 1.30 p. m. a thunder storm came up from the west, but veered around to the 
south, avoiding Jerusalem. 



Seeking for Emmaus 



477 



April i st. — Mass at St. Etienne at 6 a. m. A very severe thunderstorm visited 
us last night. There was not so much rain; but the lightning and the thunder 
were fearful. This morning is fair; temperature at 7.30 a. m. 50 F. 

The temperature did not rise perceptibly during the day. The forenoon was cloudy ; 
and the afternoon was rainy. At 9 p. m. the temperature is 48 F. 

April 2nd. — Mass at the Chapel of the Sceurs Reparatrices at 8 a. m. The tem- 
perature at 8 a. m. is 50 Fahrenheit. It rained much during the night, and to-day the 
rain is torrential. It has been a drearv winter, rainv and cold. 




TOWER OF DAVID 



The day has remained throughout windy, rainy and cold. The temperature at 
9 p. m. is 48 F. 

April 3rd. — Mass at the traditional Calvary at 6 a. m. The morning is slightly 
cloudy, but the sun is shining. The temperature at 7.30 a. m. is 50 Fahrenheit. 

The day remained cloudy and breezy; the highest temperature was 57 Fahren- 
heit. At 9 p. m. Fahrenheit's thermometer registers 48 . 

April 4th. — Mass at St. Etienne at 5.45 a. m. At 7 a. m. we set out for a day's 
journey in the land. We went first to El-Mizzeh about four miles west of Jerusalem. 
This is considered by some as the Amosa mentioned by Josephus, and as a possible 
site of the Emmaus of St. Luke. It was situated on the line of the ancient Roman 
road, and one of the large Roman milestones is found there in the ruins. There are 



478 



The Royal Caverns 



no traces there of Roman ruins except this milestone. The few ruins that are there 
are of a late epoch. It is too near Jerusalem to fulfill the conditions of distance men- 
tioned by St. Luke. From here we passed farther westward through Kastal, a ruined 
Roman fortress on a hill; the present Arab name Kastal is simply a corruption of 
Castellum. 

We then went over to Sebah on a hill to the westward. It was a fortified place 
in ancient times for ruins of its walls remain to-day. The bed-rock of the hill was 
hewn to form a base of the ancient walls. It is a small wretched Arab village. 

We descended to el-Benat in the Valley to the westward, to the ruins of a convent 
of the time of the Crusaders. There in the shade of a great oak tree we prepared and 
ate dinner. A rivulet of good water runs through the place. 

We then visited the church at Abou Ghosch, and returned to Jerusalem. The 
day was fair. 

April 5th. — Mass at St. Etienne at 6 a. m. The morning is beautiful; there is not 
a cloud in the sky; temperature at 7.30 a. m., 54° F. 

It has been a cloudless day. The highest temperature was 62 Fahrenheit. At 
cfp. m, it is 5 2 F. 

April 6th. — Mass at the traditional Holy Sepulchre at 5.30 a. m. The morning is 
beautiful; temperature at 7 a. m., 52 F. 

The highest temperature of the day was 65 F. 

At three o'clock we visited the. Royal Caverns. The entrance is a hundred paces 
east of the Damascus Gate. One enters from the road through a gate in the stone wall, 
passes through a small field of grain, and then through a door enters into the great 
cavern under the city. 

An Arab residing at the so-called Grotto of Jeremiah has the keys to both outer 
and inner door. For a small backshish he willingly opens the entrance. 

At the point where we enter the perpendicular wall of rock rises twenty feet above 
the entrance to the base of the city wall. The entrance was discovered in 1852. 

These so-called Royal Caverns are a vast stone quarry. They extend under the 
city to the south over six hundred feet, so that we penetrate under the point of the 
arch of the Ecce Homo of the Sisters of Sion. The creases and grooves are all about 
in the rock showing how by the expansive force of water on wooden wedges the blocks 
of rock were detached. Throughout the vast cavern columns of the live rock were 
left to support the vault, giving to the quarry the form of a series of gigantic rock- 
hewn chambers. The floor is irregular, rising and sinking abruptly, as they who cut 
the stone found it advantageous to cut out the stone. The vault at times is over twenty 
feet high; and again one must stoop to pass. At the furthest southern point an abun- 
dant spring of water comes forth from the rock. In width the Royal Caverns are 
about three hundred feet. 

From the Royal Caverns we went a little to the eastward by the main road, and 
then turned into a sort of lane to the so-called Grotto of Jeremiah. The tradition 
which assigns this as the probable place where Jeremiah composed his lamentations 
over Jerusalem is not earlier than the fifteenth century. From the form of the rock 
it is evident that it was a natural cave which has been enlarged and fashioned by cut- 
ting a portion of the rock. There are two large chambers. The place was formerly 
occupied by Muslim monks called by them santons. Near the entrance to the south- 
west is a small chamber with a large Muslim tomb covered by a black pall. It is called 



Ancient Christian Tombs 



479 



the tomb of the Sultan Ibrahim. The Muslims also show an elevated niche which they 
fable to be where Hoshea reposed. 

The cave is right under Gordon's Calvary. Men visit it because one wishes to see 
everyt hin g possible here at Jerusalem, but it has no importance. 

From this point we came to the new German Hospice now being built on the Da- 
mascus road a few rods north of the Damascus Gate. In the excavations here many 




MUSLIM SHEIKH 



Jewish tombs were found having the usual form of the oven-shaped graves. Several 
skeletons were there, but they crumbled to dust when disturbed. Also three parallel 
arched passages were discovered which contained great quantities of the dust of human 
bodies. Christian insignia were found, among which a Greek Bishop's cross contain- 
ing relics. This is now in the museum of the German Hospice. Many coins were also 
found there. It is evident that it was a Christian cemetery of the first centuries. 
It is easy to see why the Christians should have adapted a portion of the ancient Jewish 



480 



The Tomb of Lazarus 



cemetery for their own burial place. We see therefore that beginning a little outside 
of the Damascus Gate, the whole stretch of land was a series of Jewish tombs extending 
even to the so-called Tombs of the Kings, and then turning westward through all the 
hillside wherein are situated the so-called Tombs of the Judges. Somewhere in that 
region I believe that we must locate the Holy Sepulchre. It has not yet been found, 
but certainly the Church of St. Stephen is to-day the sanctuary nearest to the rock- 
hewn tomb in which Christ was laid. 

The temperature at 9 p. m. is 54 F. 

April 7th. — I arose at 4.15 a. m. The morn was clear and balmy. The dogs 
which had barked all night ceased at the approach of day, and a delightful stillness 
reigned over all nature. 

At 4.30 a. m. we set out for the Tomb of Lazarus at Bethany. This is the great 
feast of the Tomb for the reason that the Gospel of the day narrates the resuscitation 
of Lazarus. About 2.30 a. m. the Franciscans begin to arrive from Jerusalem, and the 
Masses begin. One portable altar is placed in the room formed of the grave itself, 
while another is placed on a shelf of rocks where Jesus is supposed to have stood. 
Many pilgrims, priests and laymen also came out from Jerusalem to share in the devo- 
tion. Sometimes as many as twenty-two Masses are said there on this day. 

The cave is narrow and crowded on this day ; the air is most foul ; but nobody com- 
plains ; all is devotion and most edifying. 

We arrived at 5:20 a. m. and soon afterward said Mass. After Mass we visited 
again the ruined fortress which is supposed to have been built by the Crusaders. At 
its eastern side the Greeks who possess the land there have made some excavations, 
and have found the wall of what seems to have been a church of the Byzantine epoch. 

The Franciscans gave bread and coffee to the pilgrims. 

At a little after 8:00 a. m., a bell summoned us back to the mouth of the Tomb of 
Lazarus. A Franciscan priest entered a few feet inside the outer entrance, and turn- 
ing towards the entrance sang the Gospel of the raising to life of Lazarus. When 
he had finished, another Franciscan priest mounted on a slight eminence above the 
tomb and read the same Gospel in Arabic. 

Then all formed a procession, and marched out to the stone on the hillside where 
the tradition assigns the place where Martha met Jesus. I have before spoken of 
this stone, and expressed my view regarding it. Here that part of the Gospel was 
sung which relates to the meeting of Martha and Jesus, and of Mary's going out to 
meet Jesus. The tradition supposes that Jesus sat on the stone while Martha went to 
summon Mary, for the Gospel states: "Now Jesus was not yet come into the village, 
but was still in the place where Martha met him" — John xi. 30. 

After the reading of the Gospel, all knelt and prayed an Our Father and Hail Mary 
and a Glory. Then we kissed the stone and departed for Bethphage. At Bethphage 
the Franciscans have a fine possession of land, and a beautiful chapel. Here we en- 
tered the Chapel, and the Gospel in which Bethphage is mentioned was read. This 
was also followed by an Our Father, a Hail Mary and a Glory, the appointed prayers 
for the indulgences of the sanctuaries. 

At this point we formed a procession, and marched to the traditional place of the 
Ascension, chanting the "Te Deum." At the place of the Ascension the Gospel of St. 
Mark xvi. 14-20 was read, followed by the usual prayers. 

Then we came down to the Church of the Our Father. Here some antiphons were 
chanted, followed by the appointed prayers as before. 



The Water Supply of Jerusalem 481 

Thence we descended the steep side of the mount to the chapel called "'Dominus 
Flevit." In the Franciscan tradition this chapel commemorates the' place where 
Jesus wept over the city. It is needless to repeat here what I have said of the authen- 
ticity of the site. Here the Gospel of Luke xix. 41 is read, commemorative of the Lord's 
weeping over Jerusalem, and we prayed as usual. The view of Jerusalem from the 
chapel is grand. 

We thence descended to the Chapel of the Agony, where the Gospel of Luke xxii. 43 
is read. 

Here we concluded the procession with the usual Our Father. Hail Mary, and 
Glory. The whole function was most edifying. The day was quite warm ; the highest 
temperature was 73 F. 

In the afternoon we made the Way of the Cross. 

The temperature at 9:00 p. m. is 59 F. 

April 8th. — Mass at St. Etienne at 6:00 a. m. The morning is beautiful, not a 
cloud in the sky. The temperature at 7:00 a. m. is 6i° F. 

The day remained fair; the highest temperature was 7 6° Fahrenheit. At 9:00 
p. m. the thermometer registers 57 F. 

April 9th. — Mass at the Chapel of the Sceurs Reparatrices at 8:00 a. m. The 
weather continues fair. 

About the middle of the forenoon a cool breeze came up from the west, and kept 
the day cool. At 9:00 p. m. the temperature is 52 F. 

April 10th. — Mass at St. Etienne at 6:15 a. m. The morning is cloudless; tem- 
perature at 7:00 a. m. 54 F. 

The day remained cloudless The highest temperature was 68° Fahrenheit. At 
9:00 p. m. it is 54 F. 

April nth. — Mass at arch of Ecce Homo at 6:00 a. m. There is not a cloud in the 
sky; temperature at 7:00 a. m. 52 Fahrenheit. The highest temperature of the day 
was 75 F. 

At three o'clock we went down to the Arch of Robinson. I measured the second 
stone of the spring of the arch. It is twenty-four feet long and five feet thick. Its 
breadth can not be ascertained as it is in the wall. A little farther west in the angle of 
the wall I found a stone measuring forty-three feet in length ; its breadth could not be 
ascertained without excavating the earth at its base. These are only specimens of 
the massive ruins of Jerusalem's ancient walls. One may well understand from an 
inspection of these walls the passage of the Gospels wherein the disciples called Jesus' 
attention to the massiveness of the walls. — Matt. xxiv. 1. 

The filth through which one must pass in visiting these walls is indescribable ; 
carcasses of dead dogs, human excrement, and rotting garbage strew the way. 

From the walls we went down by the ancient course of the tyropceon to the Pool 
of Siloah. 

At present Jerusalem is chiefly supplied with water by its cisterns. Most houses 
have reservoirs, either rock-cut or formed of strong masonry work vaulted over, with 
a small opening at the top to catch the winter rains from roofs and the .courtyards. 
Many of these are ancient, and the visitor ma}' like to inspect some. Amongst others, 
the following may be mentioned: The Cistern of Helena, in the convent of the Copts, 
to the east of the Holy Sepulchre; a cistern in the Church of the Flagellation, another 
in the Latin convent, another to the east of the Damascus Gate, and several among the 
olive-groves north of the city. In addition to the rain-water from these cisterns, the 



482 



The Virgin's Fountain 



ancient city was supplied with water by the great aqueduct from Solomon's Pools, 
•and there were also several large open reservoirs, the sides of which were cemented. 
The following are those of which the Bible speaks: 

(i) The Upper Pool of Gihon. Like many other ancient spots in Jerusalem, 
there seems to be a great difficulty in identifying this pool. From Isa. vii. 3, xxxvi. 2, 
and 2 Chron. xxxii. 30, it would appear that Gihon stood on the west side of the city, 




SITE of the pool of siloah 



and should be identified with Birket Mamilla. This view is corroborated by the fact 
that the water from this reservoir is conducted by a subterranean conduit to the cisterns 
of the citadel as well as to the Hammam el-Batrak, commonly called the "Pool of Heze- 
kiah," the conduit passing under the city wall near the Jaffa Gate. On the other hand, 
there was clearly a fountain of living water connected with the Upper Pool of Gihon, 
and for some reason it was called the Dragon, or Serpent Well. Now, about the centre 
of the Ophel hill, to the east, in the Kidron valley, is the "Fountain of the Virgin" 
('Ain Umm ed-Deraj), which is an intermittent spring, whose waters communicate 



The Pools of Jerusalem 



483 



with the Pool of Siloah by a rock-cut canal which runs in a serpentine course through 
the hill. The natives still call this fountain the "Dragon's Well," from a legendary 
tradition that a dragon swallows up the water when awake, the water rising again 
whilst he is asleep: hence the intermittent nature of the flow. On these accounts the 
Palestine Exploration Survey has identified this place with the Upper Pool of Gihon. 
The water springs up at the bottom of a cave, twenty-five deet deep, excavated in the 
rock of Ophel. Descending sixteen steps, we reach a chamber eighteen feet long by 
ten feet wide and ten feet high, its sides being built of old stones, and its roof a pointed 
arch. Another flight of fourteen steps leads us down into a roughly hewn grotto, at 




THE WATERS OF SILOAH 

the bottom of which is the water. The intermittent flow is very irregular, occurring 
generally about two or three times a day in spring, and only once in two or three days 
in autumn. The Virgin's Fountain is probably the "King's Pool" mentioned in Neh. 
ii. 14, and it is certainly the one called by Josephus "Solomon's Reservoir," which was 
on the east side of Ophel, between the Pool of Siloah and the southern side of the 
Temple. 

(2) The Lower Pool, spoken of by Isaiah (xxii. 9), is placed at Birket es-Sultan 
by those who advocate the claims of Birket Mamilla for the Upper Pool. The Birket 
es-Sultan is, however, comparatively modern, having been constructed by the Teutonic 
knights about 1 170, and repaired by Sultan Suleiman Ibn Selim between the years 1520 



484 



SlLOAH 



and 1566. It is an enormous reservoir, formed by damming up the Wady Rababeh, 
or Hinnom valley, at the place where the road to Bethlehem crosses it. There is noth- 
ing to show that a pool existed here in ancient days ; and it is far more probable that 
the "lower pool" referred to by Isaiah was identical with Siloah. 

(3) The Pool of Siloam, or Siloah, as it is called in Neh. iii. 15. Its modern name 
is 'Ain Silwan. The present pool consists of modern masonry, fifteen feet long from 
north to south, and eighteen feet broad from east to west. Its average depth is twenty 
feet, and on the north is an archway five feet wide, leading to a small modern vault 
twelve feet long. The Pool of Siloah was formerly much larger than at present, and 
it probably extended on the east to the rocky scarp, in which is a channel communicat- 
ing with the old pool. This latter pool is formed by a very massive dam of ancient 
masonry, extending at least ninety-five feet east and west, and situated about one 
hundred yards southeast of the present Pool of Siloah. The ancient rock-cut reservoir 
has been in a great measure filled up with rubbish, and the present pool is but a frag- 
mentary portion of it. The water is supplied from the Virgin's Fount (see above) 
by a rock-cut tunnel of great interest. An ancient Hebrew inscription was discovered 
in this tunnel by some Jewish boys in 1880, on a rock tablet about five yards from the 
mouth of the tunnel. The tablet was about twenty-seven inches square, and the 
inscription, which was six lines, occupied the lower portion of it. 

The translation is as follows: 

(1) "Behold the excavation! Now this is the history of the tunnel. While the 
excavators were lifting up 

(2) the pick, each towards the other; and while there were yet three cubits to be 
broken through . . . the voice of one called 

(3) to his neighbour, for there was an excess (?) in the rock on the right. They 
rose up ... they struck on the west of the 

(4) excavation, the excavators struck, each to meet the other, pick to pick. And 
there flowed 

(5) the waters from their outlet to the Pool for a distance of a thousand cubits; 
and ( three-fourths ? ) 

(6) of a cubit was the height of the rock over the head of the excavation here." 
The siloah inscription is declared by Prof. Sayce to be as old as Solomon; others 

place it from 800 to 600 B.C. The rock-cut tunnel between the Virgin's Fount and the 
Pool of Siloah is 1,708 feet in length. 

The water flows down through this passage through the rocks in an abundant 
stream, and never fails. I took off my shoes and entered into the southern extremity 
of the passage through the rock through which the water flows. One is obliged to 
wade through the water which is generally from six to eight inches deep. Some soft 
mud has accumulated in the bottom of the tunnel. I penetrated a distance of three 
hundred feet and then returned. As far as I went the passage is large enough to ad- 
mit one man standing erect; but at the northern extremity near the fountain of Gihon, 
now called Ain Sitti Maryam, the Virgin's Fount, the passage is so small that one must 
creep on hands and knees through the water to pass through. 

All the inhabitants of the village of Siloah, in Arabic Silwan, come here for water, 
and in the dry season water is brought from here to Jerusalem. 

Water has now been brought into the city from the "Sealed Fountain" near Solo- 
mon's Pools and 'Ain 'Atan. There is one pipe opening into the Haram esh-Sherif and 
another into the Birket es-Sultan. The water runs from its source at Ain SMeh to 



Great Cisterns 



4S5 



Bethlehem along the old low-level aqueduct, and from thence to the city it is conve3 7 ed 
in four-inch iron pipes. To show how much needed this fresh water-supply was, it is 
onlv necessarv to state that during the summer of 1901 from 3,000 to 5.000 skins and 
petroleum-tins full of water were sold daily from "Philip's Fountain"' to the inhabit- 
ants of Jerusalem. 

There are manv cisterns and reservoirs under the Temple area. 




Ancient writers, both Jewish and Gentile, as well as the universal tradition of Jews, 
Christians, and Muslims, affirmed the existence of inexhaustible supplies of water 
beneath the Haram (see Ecclus. 1. 3; Jos. Ant. xii. 2,2; Tacitus, Hist. v. 12; Ant. Aug. 
Itin. 590, etc). These subterranean cisterns have been fully explored, and it has been 
found that a great part of the Haram is hollowed out underneath into vast caves and 
grottoes. (A full account of thirty-seven of these cisterns is given in the P. E. Mem., 
"Jerusalem," pp. 217—225). The largest and principal of the tanks is called the "Great 
Sea," or by the natives Bir el-Aswad ("the Black Well"). It is a fine cavern with 



486 



Cisterns under the Haram 



rocky piers, reached from the south by a narrow staircase. It has numerous manholes 
in the roof, three of which are still in use. A conduit enters the tank from the east, 
and on the northeast is a small circular chamber. This enormous cistern is capable 
of holding at least two million gallons of water! Another important cistern is that 
under the Mosque of Aksa, south of the former, and commonly known as Bir el-Waraka, 
or "the Well of the Leaf." This tank is forty-two feet deep, and the roof of it is sup- 
ported by a rock pillar in the centre. It receives its name from a legend related by 
Mejr Eddin that, in the time of Omar, one Sherik Ibn Habashah let his bucket fall into 
this well, and, on descending to recover it, he found at the bottom an entrance into 




TOMBS IN KIDRON VALLEY 



Paradise, whence he brought back with him a leaf from the "tree of life." In the south- 
east corner of the Haram enclosure is another large cistern, having an entrance with 
a flight of steps at its east end, and a man hole at its west end. This tank is a long 
passage, with recesses on the north and west. It has a semicircular vaulted roof, 
the eastern portion of which is entirely rock-cut. Its modern name is Bir er-Rum- 
maneh, or "the Well of the Pomegranate," the meaning of which is not apparent. 

In the East from time immemorial the women have been the ordinary water car- 
riers. 

From this fountain we visited the village of Siloah. We explored a large cave 
there which in ancient times must have served as a quarry, as one sees the traces where 
the blocks of stone have been quarried. It serves now as a sort of public latrine, and 



A Journey to Gezer 



487 



the filth is abominable. We then entered some of the houses which have been formed 
out of the tombs. They consist of a rock hewn chamber, wherein is generally some 
matting of reeds where they sleep, and a hand mill. Life here is in its mcst primitive 
state. Dirt, ignorance and misery have here their home. 

From here we came down and entered the rock-tomb called the Tomb of St. 
James. 

It stands immediately opposite to the southeastern angle of the Temple plateau, 
which was the traditional spot whence the Apostle was hurled to his death in the valley 
below. This tomb is a large excavated chamber in the side of the cliff, having in front 
a porch supported by two columns and two half-columns, connected by an architrave, 
over which is a frieze, with triglyphs and cornice, the whole being Doric in character. 
The porch is eighteen feet wide by nine feet deep, and it is approached by a door and 
staircase on the north side. On the east is a doorway leading into the ante-chamber, 
seventeen feet by fourteen feet in dimensions, and opening into three other chambers 
on the north, east and south, these being furnished with kokim. Beyond the east 
chamber is an inner recess, approached by a flight of steps. On the southern side of 
the vestibule is an excavated passage leading to the Tomb of Zacharias. This is a 
cubical monolithic structure excavated from the natural rock, and separated from it by 
a broad passage, as in the case of Absalom's pillar. Each side measures seventeen feet, 
and is ornamented like the former. Its height, however, is considerably less, not ex- 
ceeding twenty-nine feet. Here, too, there is no masonry work. The Christians con- 
nect this tomb with the Zacharias spoken of by our Lord in St. Matt, xxiii. 35, whilst 
the Jews say that it was the tomb of Zechariah, who was stoned in the reign of Joash 
(2 Chron. xxiv. 21). Both these were probably one and the same person, but the 
monument has nothing to do with him. Its style of architecture shows that it is of 
the same date as the so-called Tomb of Absalom, and it is probable that all the four 
belonging to the group are of the Herodian or Grseco-Roman period. 

The temperature at 9:00 p. m. is 57 Fahrenheit. 

April 12th. — Mass at St. Etienne at 6:00 a. m. The sun is shining, but its light is 
pale and weak. Those who occupy themselves here with kodaks complain that the 
sunlight is often too feeble for good effects. The temperature at 7:00 a.m. is 57 . 

To-day was the warmest day of the year. At 3 :oo p. m. Fahrenheit's thermometer 
registered 79 degrees. The heat here has a peculiar oppressive effect. It produces that 
same lack of ambition which one experiences as an after-effect of la grippe. The 
climate of this land is unfavorable to progress. There are only two seasons, the rainy 
and the dry. The rainy season is too cold and wet for outdoor activity ; and the dry 
season is too hot. 

At 9:00 p. m. the temperature is 57 F. 

April 13th. — Mass at St. Etienne at 5:45 a. m. The morning was cloudless. At 
7:40 a. m. railroad time we took the train for Sedjed, a small station of no historical 
importance on the way to Jaffa. 

The railroad follows the winding course of a wad}* through the Mountains of 
Judah. The scenery is generally barren and lonesome. Near Jerusalem the narrow 
terraces of earth on the ledges of the rocks are sown with grain. As one advances east- 
ward the desolation becomes intensified. It is a land without water. There are the 
pebbly beds of streams of other days, but now there is no drop of water in them. Some 
flowering shrubbery growing among the rocks slightly relieve the monotony of desola- 
tion. One sees never a human habitation, never the gladness of human life: there 



488 



Gezer 



reigns the awful silence of the rocks. And such is the greater portion of Palestine, 
desolation and the silence of the rocks. These rocks are silent witnesses of the most 
awful history of humanity. Great have been here the sins of men, and awful have 
been here the chastisements of God. Here through ages of blood God nursed a seed of 
humanity until "every valley was filled, and every mountain and hill was brought low; 
and the crooked ways were made straight, and the rough ways smooth; and all flesh 
saw the Salvation of God." Salvation went forth from Judah; but Judah remained 
desolate ; for Judah rejected the fount of living water. 

At times the wady affords a little tillable land like an oasis in the desert. 

As we approached Deir Abana the desert ceased, and the mountains sloped down 
in a broad undulating plain of green fields. It is the eastern border of the great Plain 
of Sharon which extends westward to the Mediterranean. 

We reached Sedjed at 9:45 a. m., and immediately set out north for Tell Gezer, where 
Mr. Macalister, representing the Palestine Exploration Fund, is exploring the ruins 
of ancient Gezer. 

We arrived at the tell a few minutes before noon, and were kindly received by 
Mr. Macalister in his tent. 

Our first inquiry was to know what he had found since our last visit. He kindly 
went with us to the eastern hill, and showed us first the ruins of a small bath which 
he had unearthed. There are there in a fair state of preservation several bath tubs 
made of concrete with surfaces of cement. One fine specimen of a sitz-bath is also 
there. A fire place of stone is there, which is in connection with a small Calidarium. 

South of the bath are ruins which Mr. Macalister identifies as the fortress built by 
Simon the brother of Judas Maccabasus. These i-uins are found in a breach in the 
southern wall, closing the breach. From an inspection of the ruins it seems evident 
that the fortress was destroyed in a siege. 

Westward from the fortress just inside the southern wall of the city are consider- 
able ruins, which Mr. Macalister identifies as the palace of the aforesaid Simon. The 
sewer which ran under the palace southward is in a fair state of preservation. It was 
provided with certain projections of the rock so that the enemy might not creep through 
it into the city. A few cut stones are found in the ruins near the doors; but in general 
the walls are of small unhewn stones, rudely and poorly constructed. The foundations 
of the fortress did not go down to the rock. In fact the rock is about twelve feet 
below the foundations of the fortress. These twelve feet are occupied by the ruins of 
the preceding peoples who occupied this site. In fact, Mr. Macalister believes that 
the first origin of Gezer must be placed in the age of the troglodytes. 

No evidences of any marked civilization have been found at Gezer. Mr. Macalister 
has found one clay tablet with a Greek inscription which admits only of a conjectural 
interpretation. His conjecture is that it is an imprecation that the gods might send 
down fire upon the royal palace of Simon. This seems to me most uncertain. 

We left the tell at 2:15 p. m. by the city time in Jerusalem. This corresponded to 
1:50 p. m. railroad time. We came back to Sedjed in something less than two hours, 
and took the train at 3:40 p. m. for Jerusalem, arriving at Jerusalem at 6:45 p. m. city 
time. 

The day was warm; at 9:00 p. m. the temperature is 6o° F. 

April 14th. — Mass at St. Etienne at 6:00 a. m. The sky is hazy and the day is 
cooler than yesterday. The highest temperature of the day was 70 , but before noon 
a strong wind arose and the temperature fell to 55 F. 



Ain Karim 



IS!) 



This afternoon I again made the Way of the Cross. Jerusalem is filled with pil- 
grims and some tourists. The Russian pilgrims are in the greater number. At 9:00 
p. m. the temperature is 53 F. 

April 15th. — Mass at Bethphage at 7:00 a. m. The morning was fair and cool; 
temperature at 5:15 a. m. 53 F. 

As the day advanced the breeze of the morning grew stronger, and tempered the 
heat. The highest temperature of the day was 62° F. At 9:00 p. m. it is 57 F. 

April 16th. — Palm Sunday, I arose at 5:30 a. m., and at 6:30 a. m. went down to 
the Holv Sepulchre. The church was crowded. After the chanting of the canoni- 
cal hours by the Franciscans, at a little before 7:00 a. m. Mgr. Piccardo blessed the 
Palms. A large quantity of these palm branches is yearly brought from Egypt for 
the function of Palm Sunday. It would be more correct to bless some olive branches. 

The people buy these palm branches, and bring them in their hands; and in the 
ceremony the celebrant extends the intention of the blessing to all the palm branches 
which the people in the church hold in their hands. The palms for the clergy are 
placed in the Holy Sepulchre, and blessed there. Then a procession is formed which 
proceeds through the church. 

A considerable corps of Turkish soldiers are stationed in the church to keep the 
different rites from attacking each other. It is fortunate that the Greek calendar 
differs from the Gregorian. The schismatic Greeks follow the Julian calendar, so that 
their Easter rarely falls on the same day as the Roman Easter. This year the Greek 
Easter is one week later than ours, so that next Sunday they will celebrate Palm Sun- 
day. 

The corruption of these Greek priests is dreadful Euthemius the head of those at 
the Holy Sepulchre came to Jerusalem as a common servant. By simony he has made 
himself a millionaire. The Credit Lyonnais on the Jaffa road rents one of his houses ; 
and much other valuable property is possessed by him. The bishop who resides at 
what is called the "Viri Galilei" on the Mt. of Olives is a concubinarius, and he is one 
of the four bishops who compose the "Holy Synod" which is supreme in power in the 
schismatic church in Palestine. The schismatic Greek patriarch is only a figure-head. 

After the procession Mgr. Piccardo celebrated solemn pontifical Mass which was 
finished at 11:45 a - m - 

The day is cool; highest temperature 55 Fahrenheit. 

The question of the appointment of the successor of the late Latin Patriarch L. 
Piavi of Jerusalem has reached an acute stage. The Franciscans demand that one of 
their number be appointed; and the priests of the Patriarchate petition that a Francis- 
can be not appointed. The Pope has reserved to himself to make the appointment. 
As the Franciscans are powerful here, it would centralize too much power in their body 
to make the patriarch of this order. But they succeeded in causing the last patriarch 
to be chosen from their order; and, of course, are unwilling to relinquish the precedent. 
One sees some regrettable manifestations of the human side of the Church here. 

At 3:00 p. m. we walked over to 'Ain Karim, the traditional place of the Blessed 
Virgin Mary's visit to Elizabeth. On arriving we visited the tomb of Father Marie 
/Ratisbonne, who founded two congregations here for the conversion of the Jews. He 
founded the Priests of Sion to work for the conversion of male Jews ; and the Sisters of 
Sion for the women. The congregation of the Priests of Sion have thus far accom- 
plished but little. The nuns have done more, as they are able to get the orphans, the 
only practical way to make converts in the East. 



490 



The Jewish Passover 



The tomb of Marie Ratisbonne is in a corner of the small graveyard of the convent 
of the Sisters of Sion. It is a plain unpretentious tomb shaded by a beautiful tamarisk 
tree. 

The Convent of the Sisters of Sion here is a fine large building in a beautiful garden. 
The building was built by Ratisbonne, but he could not endow the order; and they are 
dependent on the small dowries which the nuns bring into the order, and on charitable 
offerings. 

We came back to the Franciscan Hospice where we were received with generous 
Irish hospitality by Brother Alfred Burke, the guest-master at this place. 

April 17th. — We arose at 4:30 a. m. and said Mass in the Church of the Visitation 
at s : 1 5 a. m. After fulfilling our devotions in the church, we ate a morsel of bread with 
some black coffee (Lenten fare), and started across the mountains by a good path, 
southeast to Bethlehem, and thence to Jerusalem. 

For many days an object of interest for me has been the fig trees. This is the time 
which is believed to correspond to the last week of Christ's life; in fact, many place the 
Crucifixion a few days earlier in the year; and yet the most advanced green figs are 
not larger than robins' eggs. 

At Bethlehem I met three priests of the African Missions. They had come up to 
venerate the Holy Places. They tell me that the average life of their priests after 
reaching the West coast of Africa is two years and a half. 

At 9:00 p. m. the temperature is 57 F. 

April 18th. — Mass at the Chapel of the Scourging at 6:00 a. m. To-day, Tuesday 
of Holy Week, this chapel is the special object of veneration. Many priests said Mass 
there. 

The temperature at 7:30 a. m. is 6i° Fahrenheit, the highest temperature of the 
day was 75 Fahrenheit. At 9:00 p. m. it is 66°. 

April 19th. — Wednesday of Holy week. We arose at 4:30; at 5:00 a. m. we went 
down to the Grotto of the Agony, and said Mass there. The devotion of to-day centers 
in the Grotto of the Agony. There are four altars in the Grotto, and priests said Mass 
at these altars from three o'clock a. m. until late in the morning. Many of these priests 
are Franciscans. Everything is edifying, everything is devotional. 

After Mass I spent about an hour in the Garden of Gethsemane. There were 
some distractions. I should like to go there unknown and alone, and take my station 
in some quiet portion of the holy place, and wander out far. far away from everything 
earthly, out on the infinite sea of spiritual contemplation. I shall try to find such an 
hour to-morrow night. 

To-day is quite warm; at 9:00 a. m. the temperature is 75 Fahrenheit. At midday 
it rose to 82 F. 

From 9:00 to 11:30 a. m. I spent in the so-called Tombs of the Kings, Kubtires- 
Saladin. The great tomb is five minutes walk east of St. Etienne. 
To-day the highest temperature was 83 F. 

At 3:00 p. m. we went to the Church of the Holy Sepulchre, and assisted at the 
solemn office of tenebrae chanted in front of the Holy Sepulchre. 

In the evening through the kindness of M. Jacob Eliahu of the American Colony 
I assisted at a Jewish Passover. Their calendar differs from ours ; with them to-day is 
the 14th day of Nisan, and consequently the night of the Passover. 

At 7:00 p. m. in company with Mr. Eliahu and several other Americans we went 
to the Jewish Boys' Orphanage in the Jaffa suburb. The director of the Orphanage 



The Jewish Passover 



491 



is Dr. Griinhut. He received us very kindly, and showed us even" hospitality. The 
boys were at evening prayer when we arrived. Most impressive was their chanting 
of the 118 Psalm. It is pitiable to hear their explanation of the Messianic verse: 
"The stone which the builders rejected is become the head of the corner." The 
builders are the nations of the earth; the rejected stone is Israel; and its destiny is to 
be the corner stone in the Xew Zion yet to come. 

The evening prayer being ended, we were led to the dining room, and introduced 
to Dr. Grunhut's family. Here again our welcome was most cordial. The table was 
prepared as for a banquet. At the head Dr. Grunhut took his place, then we all sat 
down. Certain features of the ancient Passover are now represented only by symbols. 
For instance they now eat no paschal lamb; but they represent the paschal lamb by a 
symbol, a small piece of a lamb's bone. 

In front of Dr. Grunhut was a pile of unleavened bread. The bread was in the 
form of circular cakes, from ten to twelve inches in diameter. They were as thin as 
brown paper. Xear him also were a dish of lettuce, grated horse-radish, the bitter 
herbs, and the haroseth. 

The paschal supper lasted about two hours. Dr. Grunhut's daughter was in charge 
of ministering to the guests. 

There was no solemnity in the event. Dr. Grunhut laughed and chatted with his 
guests during the ceremonv, just as though it were a historical comedy. 

After the ceremony of the passover was ended, a sumptuous repast was served 
with unleavened bread. This lasted until a little after midnight. Then grace was 
said. 

The service of the Jewish Passover is of such historical importance that I insert 
here the authentic text as used by Dr. Grunhut: 

"On the evening preceding the fourteenth day of the month Nisan, immediately 
after the evening service, prior to entering on any other business whatever, the master 
of every family is obliged to search the different apartments of his house for leavened 
bread, gathering all the leaven lying in his way. Before he begins the search, he says 
the following: 

'Blessed art thou, O Lord, our God, King of the universe, who hast sanctified us 
with th}~ commandments, and commanded us to remove the leaven.' 

He must be careful not to speak between the blessing and making the search, nor 
yet during the search; after he has done, he secures the pieces of leaven and says: 

'All manner of leaven that is in my possession, which I have not seen nor removed, 
shall be null, and accounted as the dust of the earth." 

On the fourteenth day. after the fourth hour (about ten o'clock in the morning), 
all manner of leaven must be removed, and that which was gathered the preceding 
eve ni ng, must be burnt ; the master says as follows: 

'All manner of leaven that is in my possession, which I have seen and which I have 
not seen, which I have removed, and which I have not removed, shall be null, and 
accounted as the dust of the earth.' 

[If the master is not at home, he annuls the leaven wherever he is]. 

If the eve of the Passover happens on the Sabbath, the search is made on the eve 
of the thirteenth (i. e. on Thursday ev enin g), and the leaven burnt on the Friday' be- 
fore noon ; and every thing is removed on the Friday before the Sabbath commences, 
reserving only two meals for the Sabbath. 



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The Jewish Passover 



All the first-born fast, in commemoration of the deliverance of the First-born of 
the Nations, when God smote all the first-born of the Egyptians. 

Service for the first two Nights of Passover. — In commemoration of our 
redemption from Egypt. The following is an index of the said service. 

First, say the sanctification ; second, wash the hands; third, take the parsley, etc.; 
fourth, break the middle cake; fifth, say the service; sixth, wash the hands; seventh, say 
the grace; eighth, break the uppermost cake, etc.; ninth, eat the bitter herb; tenth, 
eat the horse-radish, etc.; eleventh, bring the meat to table, eat, and be joyful; 
twelfth, take the piece of the middle cake first broken off, and eat a small 
piece thereof; thirteenth, say the grace after meat; fourteenth and fifteenth, finish 
the Hallel, which, if duly performed, your service will be acceptable to God. Amen. 

Sanctification for the Passover. — Fill first the cup with wine. (If the Feast 
happens on the Sabbath begin here). The sixth day, and the heavens and the earth 
were finished and all their host. And on the seventh day God ended His work which 
he had made, and he rested on the seventh day from all His work which He had 
made. And God blessed the seventh day, and sanctified it, because he thereon rested 
from all His work, which God created and made. 

"Blessed art thou, O Lord, our God, King of the universe, who created the fruit 
of the wine. 

Blessed art thou, O Lord, our God, Sovereign of the universe, who hast chosen us 
from among all people, and exalted us abo\ T e all languages, and sanctified us with thy 
commandments; and with love hast thou given us, O Lord our God [on the Sabbaths 
say, Sabbaths for rest, and] solemn days for joy festivals, and seasons, for gladness: 
[on the Sabbath say, the Sabbath day and] this day of the Feast of Unleavened Cakes 
[and this godly day of holy convocation], the season of our freedom. A holy convoca- 
tion, in love, a memorial of the departure from Egypt; for thou hast chosen and sanc- 
tified us above all people; and thy [Sabbath and] holy festivals hast thou caused us 
to inherit with [love and favor], joy and gladness. Blessed art thou, O Lord, who 
sanctifieth [the Sabbath and] Israel and the seasons.' 

Blessed art thou, O Lord our God, King of the universe who hast preserved us 
alive, sustained us, and brought us to enjoy this season. 

If the Feast happens at the conclusion of the Sabbath, the following is said: 

'Blessed art thou, O Lord our God, King of the universe, Creator of the radiance 
of the fire. 

Blessed art thou, O Lord, our God, King of the universe; who hast made a distinc- 
tion between holy and not holy, between light and darkness, between Israel and the 
other nations, between the seventh day and the six working days. Thou didst also 
discriminate between the sanctity of the Sabbath-day, and the sanctity of other holy- 
days; and consecratest the Sabbath day in preference to the six working days; thou 
also separatest thy people Israel, and didst sanctify them with thy holiness. Blessed 
art thou, Eternal; who makest a distinction between holy and unholy. 

Blessed art thou, O Lord, our God, King of the universe, who hast preserved us 
alive, sustained us, and brought us to enjoy this season." 

Then drink the wine of the Sanctification, leaning on the left side. 

Washing the Hands. — After this wash your hands, but do not say the Blessing. 

Taking the Parsley, etc. — The master of the house then takes some parsley 
or chervil, and dips it into vinegar, or saltwater, and having distributed some to every 
one at the table, they all say the following grace before they eat it: 



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493 



•Blessed art thou, O Lord, our God. Kong of the universe, Creator of the fruit of 
the earth.' 

Breaking the Middle Cake. — The master of the house then breaks the middle 
cake in the dish, and leaving one-half of it there, he lays the other half away until after 
supper. This portion of unleavened bread thus secreted is called the "Aphicomen." 
The etymology of the term is unknown ; but it symbolizes the unleavened dough which 
the Israelites in their flight from Egypt took bound up in their clothes — Exod. xii. 34. 

The Service for the Passover. — Then he takes the bone of the lamb, and the 
egg out of the dish, and all at table lay hold of the dish, and say: 

'Lo! this is as the bread of affliction, which our ancestors ate in the land of Egypt, 
let all those who are hungry, enter and eat thereof; and all who are necessitous, come, 
and celebrate the passover. At present we celebrate it here, but the next year we 
hope to celebrate it in the land of Israel. This year we are servants here, but the next 
year we hope to be freemen in the land of Israel.' 

Then fill the cup with wine the second time, and take the dish -from the table: 
then the youngest of the company asks: 

'Wherefore is this night distinguished from all other nights? On all the other nights 
we may eat either leavened or unleavened bread, but on this night only unleavened 
bread; on all the other nights we may eat an}* species of herbs, but on this night only 
bitter herbs ; on all the other nights we do not dip even once, but on this night twice ; 
on all the other nights we eat and drink, either sitting or leaning, but on this night we 
all lean." 

Xow put the dish again on the table, and the whole company answer: 

•Because we were slaves unto Pharaoh in Egypt, and the Eternal, our God, brought 
us forth from thence, with a mighty hand, and an outstretched arm: and if the Most 
Holy, blessed be He. had not brought forth our ancestors from Egypt, we. and our 
children, and our children's children, had still continued in bondage to the Pharaohs 
in Egypt ; therefore, although we are all wise, all of us, men of understanding and ex- 
perience ; all of us having knowledge in the law, it, nevertheless, is incumbent upon us 
to discourse of the departure from Egypt : and all those who largely discourse of the 
departure from Egypt are accounted praiseworthy. 

And thus is related of Rabbi Eleazar. Rabbi Joshua, Rabbi Elazar, the son of 
Azariah, Rabbi Akiba. and Rabbi Tarphon, that they once met (on the night of 
Passover) and continued discoursing of the departure from Egypt all that night, till 
their disciples came, and said: "Instructors, it is time to read the morning schama." 

Then follow some wearisome details, after which the liturgy continues: 

"Lift up the cup of wine and say : 

'And it is this same promise which has been the support of our ancestors, and of 
us also; for not one only has risen up against us, but in every generation there are 
some who rise up against us to annihilate us; but the Most Holy, blessed be he, has 
delivered us out of their hand. 

Search and inquire what Laban, the Syrian, intended to do to our father Jacob ; 
for Pharaoh decreed the destruction of the males, but Laban intended to root out 
the whole, as it is said: a Syrian had nearly caused my father to perish, and he went 
down into Egypt, and sojourned there with few persons, and there became a great, 
might}" and populous nation. 

"And he went down into Egypt," compelled thereto, by the word of God, "and 
sojourned there." by which we are taught that he did not go down there to settle, 



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The Jewish Passover 



but only to sojourn as is said; and they (Joseph's brethern) said unto Pharaoh, to 
sojourn in the land are we come; for thy servants have no pasture for their flocks; 
for the famine is sore in the land of Canaan; now, therefore, we pray thee, let thy ser- 
vants dwell in the land of Goshen. 

"With a few persons," as it is said; with three score and ten souls thy ancestors 
went down into Egypt; and now the Eternal, thy God, had made thee as the stars of 
heaven for multitude. "And he there became a nation;" by which we are informed 
that the children of Israel were distinguished, even in Egypt, as a peculiar nation. 
"Great and mighty," as it is said; and the children of Israel were fruitful, and increased 
abundantly, and multiplied, and waxed exceedingly mighty, and the land was filled 
with them. 

"And populous," as it is said: I have caused thee to multiply as the vegetation 
of the field, and thou becamest considerable and great, and adorned with many beauties. 
Thy breasts are fashioned, and thine hair grown, yet thou art naked bare. 

"And the Egyptians ill-treated us; afflicted us, and laid heavy bondage upon us. 
And the Egyptians ill-treated us," as it is said: Come on, let us deal wisely with them; 
lest they multiply, and it come to pass, if it chance to be a war, they might also go 
over to our enemies, fight against us, and so get them up out of the land. 

"And they afflicted us," as it is said: and they set over them task-masters to af- 
flict them with their burdens, and they built for Pharaoh store cities, even Pithom 
and Raamses. "And they laid heavy bondage upon us," as it is said: and the Egypt- 
ians made the children to serve with rigor. 

And we cried unto the Eternal, the God of our ancestors. The Eternal heard our 
voice, and observed our affliction, our labor and our oppression. 

And we cried unto the Eternal, the God of our ancestors, as it is said: and it came 
to pass in process of time, that the king of Egypt died, and the children of Israel, sighed 
by reason of bondage, and they cried, and their cry ascended up unto God, by reason 
of the bondage. 

"And the Eternal heard our voice," as it is said; and God heard their groaning, 
and remembered his covenant with Abraham, Isaac and Jacob. 

"And he saw our affliction." This denotes their being denied the company of 
their wives, to prevent propagation; as it is said: and God looked upon the children 
of Israel, and God had knowledge of their affliction. 

"And our grievousness." This denotes the destruction of the male children; 
as it is said: every son that is born, ye shall cast into the river, but every daughter ye 
shall save alive. 

"And our oppression." This denotes fatigue; as is said: and I have also seen the 
oppression with which the Egyptians harass them. 

"And the Eternal brought us forth from Egypt, with a strong hand, with an out- 
stretched arm; with terror and with signs of wonders. 

"And the Eternal brought us from Egypt," not by means of an angel, nor by means 
of a seraph, nor by means of a messenger, but the Most Holy, blessed be he, himself in 
his glory, as is said: and I will pass through the land of Egypt this night, and I will 
smite all the first-born in the land of Egypt, both of man and beast, and on all the 
gods of Egypt will I execute judgment. I am the Eternal. 

"And I will pass through the land of Egypt; I, Myself, and not an angel; and I 
will smite all the first-born; I, Myself, and no seraph; and on all the gods of Egypt 



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495 



will I execute judgment; Myself, and not a messenger; I am the Eternal, I am he, and 
no other. 

"With a strong hand," this denotes the murrain; as is said: Behold! the hand of 
the Eternal will be upon thy cattle which is in the field, upon the horses, upon the asses, 
upon the camels, upon the oxen, and upon the sheep; a very grievous murrain. And 
with an outstretched arm; this denotes the sword, as is said elsewhere on such an occa- 
sion, and a drawn sword, in his hand stretched out over Jerusalem. 

"And with great terror;" this denotes the appearance of the Divine Presence; 
as is said: or had God essayed to go and take unto him a nation from the midst of an- 
other nation, by proofs, signs, and wonders; by war, and a mighty hand; by an out- 
stretched arm, and great terrors, according to all that the Eternal, your God did for 
you in Egypt, before your eyes. 

"And with prodigies;" this denotes the miracles performed with the rod; as is 
said: and thou take this rod in thy hand wherewith thou shalt do the prodigies. 

"And with wonders;" this denotes the plague of blood; as it is said: and I will 
show wonders in the heavens, and in the earth, blood and fire and ascending pillars of 
smoke.' 

(Dip the finger in the cup and sprinkle a drop out of it, saying, blood etc.'; 

It may also be explained thus, "With a strong hand," denotes two plagues. 
"With an outstretched arm," two plagues, "with great terror," two plagues; "with 
prodigies," two plagues; and "with wonders," two plagues. 

These are the ten plagues, which the Most Holy, blessed be he, brought on the 
Egyptians in Egypt, viz: (dip the finger in -the cup, and sprinkle a drop out of it, on 
mentioning every one of the ten plagues). 

Blood, frogs, vermin, murrain, a mixture of noxious beasts, boils, hail, locusts, 
darkness, and slaying of the first-born.' 

Here follows the account of a stupid Rabbinical discussion on the number of the 
plagues. 

'What abundant favors has the Omnipresent conferred upon us! 

For if he had but brought us forth from Egypt, and had not inflicted justice upon 
the Egyptians, it would have been sufficient. 

If he had inflicted justice upon them, and had not executed justice upon their 
gods, it would have been sufficient. 

If he had executed judgment upon their gods, and had not slain their first-born, 
it would have been sufficient. 

If he had slain their first-born, and had not bestowed their wealth upon us, it 
would have been sufficient. 

If he had given us their wealth, and had not divided the sea for us, it would have 
been sufficient. 

If he had divided the sea for us, and had not caused us to pass through on dry land, 
it would have been sufficient. 

If he had caused us to pass through on dry land, and had not plunged our 
oppressors in the midst thereof, it would have been sufficient. 

If he had plunged our oppressors in the midst thereof, and had not supplied us 
with necessaries in the wilderness for forty years, it would have been sufficient. 

If he had supplied us with necessaries in the wilderness for forty years, and had 
not fed us with manna it would have been sufficient. 



496 



The Jewish Passover 



If he had fed us with manna, and had not given us the Sabbath, it would have 
been sufficient. 

If he had given us the Sabbath, and had not brought us near to Mount Sinai, it 
would have been sufficient. 

If he had brought us near to Mount Sinai, and had not given us his law, it would 
have been sufficient. 

If he had given us his law, and had not brought us to the land of Israel, it would 
have been sufficient. 

If he had brought us to the land of Israel, and had not built the Temple, it would 
have been sufficient. 

How much then are we indebted for the manifold favors the Omnipresent con- 
ferred on us? He brought us forth from Egypt, executed judgment on the Egyptians, 
and on their gods; slew their first-born; gave us their wealth; divided the sea for us; 
caused us to pass through on dry land; plunged our oppressors in the midst thereof; 
supplied us with necessaries in the wilderness forty years; gave us manna to eat; gave 
us the Sabbath; brought us near to Mount Sinai; gave us the law: brought us into the 
land of Israel; and built the chosen holy Temple for us, to make atonement for all our 
sins. 

Rabbi Gamaliel said: whosoever dues not mention the three things used on the 
Passover, has not done his duty; and these are they: the paschal lamb, the unleavened 
cake, and bitter herb. 

The paschal lamb, which our ancestors ate during the existence of the holy Temple, 
what did it denote? It denoted that the Most Holy, blessed be he! passed over our 
fathers' houses in Egypt, as is said; and ye shall say: It is the Lord's Passover; because 
he passed over the houses of the children of Israel in Egypt, when he smote the Egypt- 
ians, and delivered our houses. And the people bowed their heads and worshipped.' 

Then take hold of the cake in the dish and show it to the company as a memorial 
of our freedom, and say: 

'These unleavened cakes, wherefore do we eat them? Because there was not 
sufficient time for the dough of our ancestors to leaven, before the Holy Supreme King 
of kings, blessed is he, appeared unto them, and redeemed them, as is said; and they 
baked unleavened cakes of the dough, which they brought forth out of Egypt; for it 
was not leavened, because they were thrust out of Egypt, and could not tarry; neither 
had they made any provision for themselves.' 

Then take hold of the lettuce (or green top of the horse-radish) and show it to the 
company as a memorial of our servitude, and say: 

'This bitter herb, wherefore do we eat it? Because the Egyptians embittered the 
lives of our ancestors in Egypt, as is said: And they embittered their lives with cruel 
bondage, in mortar and brick, and in all manner, of labor in the field; all their labor 
was imposed upon them with rigor. 

It is therefore incumbent upon every Israelite, in every generation, to look upon 
himself, as if he had actually gone forth from Egypt, as is said: And thou shalt declare 
unto thy son, in that day, saying this is done because of that, which the Eternal did for me, 
when I came forth from Egypt. It was not our ancestors, only that the Most Holy, 
blessed be he! redeemed from Egypt, but us also did he redeem with them, as is said: 
and he brought us from thence, that he might bring us in, to give us the land which 
he swore unto our fathers.' 



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497 



Then take the cup or glass of wine in the hand, and say: 

* We therefore are in duty bound to thank, praise, adore, glorify, extol, honor, 
bless, exalt, and reverence Him, who wrought all these miracles for our ancestors and 
us: for He brought us forth from bondage to freedom: from sorrow to joy; from mourn- 
ing to holy da}"; from darkness to great light; and from servitude to redemption, and 
therefore let us chant unto him a new song. Hallelujah. 

Then follows the little Hallel composed of the 113 and 114 Psalms (Vulg 112 and 
113, 1-8). 

•Blessed art thou, O Eternal, our God, Sovereign of the universe, who hast redeemed 
us, and our ancestors from Egypt; and caused us to attain the enjoyment of this night 
to eat therein unleavened cakes and bitter herbs. Eternal, our God, and the God 
of our ancestors, mayest thou thus cause us to attain other solemn festivals and seasons, 
which approach us; that they may rejoice in the building of the city, and exult in thy 
service; and that we may there eat of the sacrifices and paschal lambs, whose blood 
shall be sprinkled on the sides of thine altar, that they may be acceptable; then will 
we give thanks unto thee with a new song for our deliverance and redemption. 
Blessed art thou. Eternal, who redeemeth Israel. Blessed art thou. O Lord, our 
God, King of the universe, Creator of the fruit of the vine.' 

Washing the Hands. — Wash your hands and say: 'Blessed art thou, Lord, 
our God, King of the universe, who hast sanctified us with thy commandments, and 
commandest us to wash the hands.' 

Saying Grace and Breaking the Cake. — The master of the house then takes 
two whole cakes and the broken one in his hand together, and breaks the upper cake; 
but he must not eat thereof, till he breaks a piece of the broken one, and says the 
following blessings, and gives a piece of each to every one at the table, who will say the 
same blessings, and then eat both pieces together. 

•Blessed art thou, O Eternal, our God, King of the universe, who bringeth forth 
bread from the earth. 

Blessed art thou. O Lord, our God, King of the universe, who hast sanctified us 
with thy commandments, and commanded us to eat unleavened cakes. ' 

The Eating of the Bitter Herbs. — The master of the house then takes some 
bitter herbs, dips it into the Haroseth and says: 

'Blessed art thou. O Lord, our God, King of the universe, who hast sanctified us 
with thy commandments, and commanded us to eat bitter herbs.' 

He then eats it and gives some to every one at the table, who say the above bless- 
ing before they eat it. 

Eating the Horse-radish. — The master of the house then breaks the undermost 
cake; takes a piece of it with some bitter herbs, of a kind different from the first, puts 
them together, and says the following, in commemoration of what Hillel did: 

'Thus did Hillel during the time the Holy Temple stood: he took the unleavened 
cake and bitter herb, and ate them together, that he might perform what is said, with 
unleavened cake and bitter herbs shall they eat it.' 

Bringing the Meal to a Close. — After supper the master of the house takes 
the half of the middle cake, which he laid by, and gives every one a piece of it. Then 
fills the cups with wine, and says the grace which is said after meals. 

Form of the Grace after Meals. — It is the custom that he who says the grace, 
says: 'Gentlemen, we will say the grace.' And they answer: 

'Blessed be the name of the Eternal from henceforth and forevermore.' 



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If the company be ten or more, then he who says the grace, says: 
'We will bless our God of whose bounty we have been satisfied, and through whose 
goodness we live. 

Blessed be our God, of whose bounty we have been satisfied, and through whose 
goodness we live. Blessed be He ; blessed be his name. 

Blessed art thou, O Lord, our God, King of the universe, who feedeth the whole 
world with his goodness, and with grace, kindness, and mercy, giving food to every 
creature: for his mercy endures forever. And as his abundant goodness has never 
been deficient towards us, so may we never be in want of sustenance for ever and ever; 
for the sake of his great name ; for He is the God who feeds and sustains all, and deals 
beneficently with all; and provides food for all the creatures that he has created. 
Blessed art thou, Lord, Giver of food unto all. 

We will give thanks unto thee, O Lord, our God, for having caused our ancestors 
to inherit that desirable, good and ample land; and because thou hast brought us 
forth from the land of Egypt, and redeemed us from the house of bondage; and for 
thy covenant which thou hast sealed in our flesh ; for thy law which thou hast taught 
us, and for thy statutes which thou hast made known unto us, and for the life, kind- 
ness, and mercy, which thou hast graciously bestowed upon us, and for the food 
wherewith thou doest feed and sustain us, continually; every day and hour. 

And for all these things, Lord, our God, will we give thanks unto thee, and praise 
thee: blessed be thy name continually, in the mouth of every living creature for ever 
and ever; as it is written: When thou hast eaten and art satisfied; then thou shouldst 
bless the Lord, thy God, for the good land which he had given thee. Blessed art thou, 
Lord, for the gift of the land, and for the food. 

O Lord, our God, we beseech the, have compassion on thy people Israel, on Jeru- 
salem, thy city, on Zion, the residence of thy glory, and upon the kingdom of the house 
of David, thine anointed; and on the great holy house which is called by thy name. 
Thou art our God, Father, Pastor, and Feeder; our Maintainer, Supporter, and En- 
larger. Enlarge us speedily from all our troubles; and suffer us not, O Lord, our God, 
to stand in need of the gifts of mankind, nor their loan; but let us depend on thy full, 
open, and extensive hand; so that we may not be put to shame, nor ever be confounded.' 

On the Sabbath say: 'Be pleased, O Lord, our God, to grant us rest in thy com- 
mandments, and in the commandments of the seventh day, even this great and holy 
Sabbath; for this day is great and holy in thy presence, therein to rest, and be at ease 
in love according to the precept of thy will; and in thy good will, suffer no trouble, 
sorrow, or affliction, to affect us on our day of rest: and show us, O Lord, our God, 
the consolation of Zion, thy city, and the structure of Jerusalem, thy holy city; for 
thou art the Lord of salvation, and the Lord of consolations. 

Our God, and the God of our fathers shall cause our prayers to ascend, and come, 
approach, be seen, accepted, heard and be thought on, and be remembered in remem- 
brance of us, and in remembrance of our fathers, in remembrance of thine anointed 
Messiah, the son of David, thy servant, and in remembrance of Jerusalem, thy holy 
city, and in commemoration of all thy people, the house of Israel, before thee, to a 
good issue with favor, with grace, and mercy to life and peace, on this day of the 
Feast of Unleavened Bread. O Lord, our God, remember us therein for good: visit 
us with a blessing; and save us to enjoy life; and with the word of salvation and mercy, 
have compassion, and be gracious unto us, for our eyes are continually towards thee: 
for thou, O God, art a merciful and gracious King. 



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O rebuild Jerusalem, the holy city, speedily in our days. Blessed art thou, O 
Lord, who in his mercy buildeth Jerusalem. Amen. 

Blessed art thou, O Lord our God, King, Strength, Creator, Redeemer and Sanc- 
tifier, the Sanctifier of Jacob, our Pastor, the Shepherd of Israel, the beneficent King, 
who dealeth beneficently with all; for he has been, is, and ever will be daily beneficent 
towards us. He has dealt bountifully with us, as he does now, and will: granting us 
grace, favor, mercy, enlargement, deliverance, prosperity, blessing, salvation, conso- 
lation, maintenance, and sustenance: and may we never want mercy, and a peaceable 
life, with every good. 

May he, who is most merciful, reign over us, for ever and ever. May he, who is 
most merciful be praised in Heaven and on earth. May he, who is most merciful, be 
adored throughout all generations; be eternally glorified amidst us; and be honored 
amongst us to all eternity. May he, who is most merciful, maintain us with honor. 
May he, who is most merciful, break the yoke of our captivity from off our neck, and 
lead us securely to our land. May he, who is most merciful, send us abundant bless- 
ings in this house, and on this table, on which we have eaten. May he, who is most 
merciful, send us Eliah, the prophet of blessed memory, to bring us the good tidings 
of salvation and consolation. May he, who is most merciful, bless (my honored father, 
the master of this house, and my honored mother, the mistress thereof; their house, 
children, and all belonging to them) us and all belonging to us, as our ancestors Abra- 
ham, Isaac, and Jacob were blessed, with all and every good: thus may he bless us all 
together with a complete blessing, and let us say, Amen. 

Ma}* they in Heaven show forth (his and) our merit, for a peaceable preservation, 
and may we receive a blessing from the Lord, and righteousness from the God of our 
salvation, and may we find grace and good understanding in the sight of God and men. ' 

On the Sabbath say: 'May He, who is most merciful, cause us to inherit the day 
that is entirely Sabbath, and rest of everlasting life. 

May He, who is most merciful, cause us to inherit the day that is entirely good. 

May he, who is most merciful, make us worthy to behold the day of the Messiah, 
and eternal life in the future state. He gives great salvation to his king, and shows 
mercy to his anointed: to David and his seed for ever. May He, who makes peace 
in his high heavens, grant peace unto us and all Israel, and say ye, Amen. 

Fear the Lord, ye, his saints, for there is no want to those who fear him. The young 
lions do lack, and suffer hunger; but they who seek the Lord shall not want any good. 

Praise ye the Lord, for he is good, for his mercy endureth forever. Thou openest 
thy hand and satisfiest the desire of every living thing. Blessed is the man who will 
trust in the Lord, and the Lord will be his trust. May the Lord give strength to his 
people. May the Lord bless his people with peace. 

Blessed art thou, Lord our God, King of the universe, Creator of the fruit of 
the vine.' 

Open the door and say: 'O pour out thy wrath upon the heathen who know not 
the kingdoms, who invoke not thy name, for they have devoured Jacob, and laid waste 
his beautiful dwelling. (Pour out thine indignation upon them, and cause thy fierce 
anger to overtake them; pursue them in wrath, and destroy them from under the 
heavens of the Lord.) 

They now fill the fourth cup, and say the Hallel, which is made up of Psalms 
115,116,117,118, 136; (Vulg. 113, 114, 115, 116. 117, 135). Then follows the follow- 
ing sublime prayer: 



500 



The Jewish Passover 



'The breath of all living bless thy name O Lord, our God, the spirit of the flesh, 
continually glorify and extol thy memorial, O our King, thou art God from eternity to 
eternity; besides thee we acknowledge neither king, redeemer or saviour, thou redeem- 
est, deliverest, maintainest, and hast compassion on us, in all times of trouble and 
distress: we have no king but thee. Thou art God of the first, and God of the last, 
the God of all creatures; the Lord of all productions: thou art adored with all manner 
of praise: who governeth the Universe with tenderness, and thy creatures with mercy. 
Lo! the Lord neither slumbereth nor sleepeth but rouseth those who sleep, awakeneth 
those who slumber: causeth the dumb to speak: looseth those that are bound : supportest 
the fallen and raisethup those who droop: and therefore thee alone do we worship. 
Although our mouths were filled with melodious songs as the drops of the sea; our 
tongues with shouting, as the roaring billows thereof, our lips with praise like the wide- 
extended firmament, our eyes with sparkling brightness like the sun and moon; our 
hands extended like the towering eagles; and our feet as the winds for swiftness we, 
nevertheless, are incapable of rendering sufficient thanks unto thee, Lord, our God 
and God of our fathers; or to bless thy name, for one of the innumerable benefits, which 
thou hast conferred on us and our ancestors. For thou, O Lord, our God, didst re- 
deem us from Egypt, and release us from the house of bondage; in time of famine didst 
thou sustain us ; and in plenty didst thou nourish us. Thou didst deliver us from the 
sword; save us from pestilence; and from many sore and heavy diseases hast thou 
withdrawn us. Hitherto thy render mercies have supported us, and thy kindness has 
not forsaken us. Lord, our God, forsake us not in future. Therefore the members of 
which thou hast formed us, the spirit and soul which thou hast breathed into us and 
the tongue which thou hast placed in our mouths; lo! they shall worship, bless, praise, 
glorify, extol, reverence, sanctify and ascribe sovereign power unto thy name our King. 
Every mouth shall adore thee, and every tongue shall swear unto thee; unto thee every 
knee shall bend ; every rational being shall worship thee ; every heart shall revere thee ; 
the inward part and reins shall sing praise unto thy name: as it is written: All my bones 
shall say, O Lord, who is like unto thee? Who deliverest the weak from him that is too 
strong for him : the poor and needy from their oppressor ; who is like unto thee ? who is 
equal unto thee? who can be compared unto thee? great, mighty and tremendous God! 
most high God! Possessor of heaven and earth! we will praise, adore, glorify, and bless 
thy name, as said David: — Bless the Lord, O my soul, and all that is within me, bless 
his holy name. 

O God who art mighty in thy strength, who art great by thy glorious name, mighty 
for ever, tremendous by thy fearful acts. The King, who sitteth on the high and exalted 
throne, inhabiting eternity, most exalted, and holy his name; and it is written, Rejoice 
in the Lord, O ye righteous, for to the just praise is comely. With the mouth of the 
upright shouldst thou be praised; blessed with the lips of the righteous, extolled with 
the tongue of the pious; by a choir of saints shouldst thou be sanctified. 

And in the congregations of many thousands of the people, the house of Israel, 
shall thy name, O our King, be glorified in song throughout all generations; for such is 
the duty of every created being, towards thee, O Lord, our God, and the God of our 
fathers, to render thanks, to praise, extol, glorify, exalt, ascribe glory, bless, magnify 
and adore thee. With all the songs and praises, of thy servant David, the son of Jesse, 
thine anointed. 

May thy name be praised for ever, our King, the Almighty, the King, the Great 
and Holy, in heaven and upon earth, for unto thee belongeth, O Lord, our God, and 



Holy Thursday 



501 



the God of our fathers, song and praise, hymns and psalms, might and dominion, victory 
and power, greatness, adoration, glory, holiness and majesty, blessings and thanksgiv- 
ings are thine from henceforth to everlasting." 

All thy work, Lord, shall praise thee, the pious servants, with the righteous who 
perform thy will, and thy people, the house of Israel, with joyful song shall give thanks, 
bless, praise, glorify, extol, reverence, sanctify and acknowledge thy kingly name, O 
our King, for to thee it is proper to offer thanksgiving, and pleasant to sing praise to thy 
name; for thou art God from everlasting to everlasting.' 

Certain other prayers are added which are varied for the first and second nights. 
Although the strict tradition of the Jews was that nothing should be eaten after the 
Passover, we were served with a sumptuous banquet after the Passover. 

Then the boys sang an Arabic song, setting forth the mystic sanctity of all the 
numbers up to twelve. The evening's entertainment closed with a German song. 

April 20th.— Holy Thursday. At 6:30 a. m. we went down to the Church of the 
Holy Sepulchre. The ceremonies took place in front of the Holy Sepulchre. Mgr. 
Piccardo presided. There the impressive service of Holy Thursday was carried out 
with great precision. We received Holy Communion from Mgr. Piccardo. A vast 
multitude of pilgrims and Christians of Jerusalem received from him Holy Communion. 
At the procession we marched thrice around the rotunda of the Holy Sepulchre, the 
third time going out around the so called stone of unction by the entrance of the church. 
About seventy-five priests were in the procession. A small detachment of Turkish 
soldiers were stationed in the church. 

After the procession the Host consecrated for the Ceremony of the Presanctified 
was placed in the Holy Sepulchre on the slab covering the supposed grave of Christ. 

The day is warm; highest temperature 86° Fahrenheit. 

The ceremony of the washing of the feet which formerly took place in the Coe- 
naculum, now takes place in the Church of the Holy Sepulchre at 2:00 p. m. on Holy 
Thursday. 

The Tenebrae took place at 3:00 p. m. as on the preceeding day. The outer door 
of the church was closed precisely at 2:00 p. in., and was not opened until after the 
Tenebrae. Those who are not punctual in arriving before 2 :oo p. m. are thus shut out. 

In the evening at 8:30 we went down to the Garden of Gethsemane. By special 
permission granted me by the Rev. President of the Holy Places, the garden was opened 
to us all the night. 

We remained until towards midnight in silent prayer and meditation in the garden. 

It was a beautiful night. The full moon rose over the summit of the Mount of 
Olives and flooded the garden with light. Nothing in Jerusalem has impressed me as 
did these hours in the stillness of this garden. There kneeling on the ground under 
these gigantic old olive trees, the realization grew wondrous strong of that mysterious 
event when Jesus fell prostrate on that ground, and prayed the wondrous prayer so 
intensely human, and so intensely divine. 

Our only distraction was when some careless tourist would enter with hands in 
pockets, and look over the scene with that calm indifference that one might manifest 
in any common public garden. 

Just above Gethsemane a band of Americans from the American Colony had as- 
sembled for a sort of informal worship. They sang very well ; and their harmonious 
voices floated down on the still night air, filling us with regret that people of such 
honest intentions are separated from the true faith. 



502 



Good Friday 



At midnight the temperature is 66° Fahrenheit The Muslims are flocking to 
Jerusalem to join the great Muslim pilgrimage which will start to-morrow for Nebi 
Mousa from the Mosque, falsely called the Mosque of Omar. These pilgrims are the 
most fanatic of all Muslims. 

April 21st. — Good Friday. To-day the ceremonies began in the Church of the 
Holy Sepulchre at 6:30 a. m. The outer door of the church was closed at that hour, 




WASHING OF FEET AT JERUSALEM 

and remained closed during the services. The usual Good Friday ceremonies were 
carried out. The Rite of the Presanctified was celebrated on the traditional Calvary. 

At noon the temperature was 84 Fahrenheit. In the afternoon it rose a few de- 
grees higher. There was no breeze. 

At one p. m. we went down to the Church of St. Anne, and mounted on the terrace 
to witness the Muslim pilgrims start for Nebi Mousa. This event originated in Muslim 
fanaticism against the Christians. Fearing that the Christian devotion in Jerusalem 
during Holy Week was a danger to Islam, the authorities invented a counter demon- 



Ceremonies of Holy Week 



503 



stration. They gave out that the tomb of Moses, Nebi Mousa, was down in the desert 
of the Jordan. The tradition is not ancient, and the custom of the yearly pilgrimage 
to the supposed grave is not of thirty years' duration. The da}* chosen is always Good 
Friday. This fact alone shows the animus of the pilgrimage. The Muslims follow 
the Muhammadan calendar; but this feast is always placed on Good Friday. 

To-day being Good Friday, the pilgrimage set forth. Tens of thousands of Muslim 
men, women, and children assembled in the great square of the mosque called of Omar, 
and marched thence to the weird music of drums and cymbals through St. Stephen's 
Gate down the Jericho road. Squads of soldiers both infantry and calvary accom- 
panied them. Some of the cavalry were mounted on camels. The wildest fanaticism 
prevailed. Men danced, others clapped their hands, and all shouted. 

Three dervishes stripped naked to the waist, holding sabers in their hands, danced 
the saber dance. They feigned to inflict dreadful punishment on their naked bodies 
with the sabres, sometimes leaning their naked bodies on the sabres while men climbed 
on their backs. The whole scene was one of revolting ignorance and degradation. 

As soon as the Muslim procession of Nebi Mousa had passed, we began the public 
Way of the Cross. To-day a Franciscan Father preached a sermon in French at every 
station. This is the custom on Good Friday. 

Having finished the devotion of the Way of the Cross, we again went down to the 
Church of St. Anne, to witness the Greek ceremony of the '"Funeral of Christ." The 
Greek liturgy by far more abounds in symbols than does our Latin rite. Yesterday 
they had the ceremony of the Crucifixion of Christ. A paper image of Christ was 
nailed to a cross placed on an improvised altar. Later that image was taken down 
from the cross; and this afternoon, commencing at 4:30 p. m. they celebrated the 
'"Funeral of Christ." 

The Greek liturgy is always long. The strenuous life is unknown in the East. 
Here the people have plenty of time. This ceremony lasted two hours. The afore- 
said paper image was placed on a white . cloth on the altar. The priests scattered 
petals of roses on it, to symbolize the embalming of Jesus' body. The liturgy centra- 
lizes on Christ's great victory over death by his death. Some of it is rendered in Arabic, 
although all is printed in Greek in the liturgy. The rendering of a portion in Arabic is a 
later adaptation. 

At the end four priests take up by the four corners the white cloth on which the 
image lies, and carry it solemnly in procession through the church, and place it on the 
high altar. To-morrow at St. Anne's will take place the ceremony of the Holy Fire but 
I cannot attend, as I am engaged to act as deacon in the Church of the Holy Sepulchre. 

This evening at the Church of the Holy Sepulchre took place a curious ceremony. 
A procession was formed which marched to all the chief altars of the church; and at 
each of these altars a sermon was preached always in a different tongue ; Greek, Spanish, 
English. Italian, French, German, Polish, Arabic, and Turkish sermons were preached. 
When the procession came to Calvary, four priests took the bod)* of Jesus from the 
crucifix, placed it on a white cloth and carried it thus to the stone of anointing. There 
they anointed it; and then carried it and placed it on the marble slab in the Holy 
Sepulchre. It was weirdly realistic. 

At 9:00 p. m. the temperature is 66° Fahrenheit, and not a breath of air. 

April 22nd. — 1 Holy Saturday. This morning I acted as deacon in the Hoi}* Sepul- 
chre. Mgr. Piccardo celebrated pontifical Mass. The day is very warm, but there is a 
breeze. At midday Fahrenheit's thermometer registers 9oi degrees. In the after- 



504 



Gordon's Holy Sepulchre 



noon the temperature advanced to 93 Fahrenheit. The wind was fitful and like the 
breathing of an oven. The air is full of dust; the heavens are lurid. Towards evening 
the breeze failed completely, and breathing is difficult. 

I went up to Olivet in the afternoon. All was there silent and sad. From its 
dismal side one has the whole scene of Jesus' last days before one's eyes. 

At 9:00 p. m. the temperature is 79 Fahrenheit. 

April 23rd. — Easter Sunday. Arose at 4:30. At 5:00 a. m. I said Mass in the 
Church of the Holy Sepulchre. Almost immediately after I took my place as deacon 
of the Solemn pontifical Mass. It was celebrated by Mgr. J. Thome da Silva, the Pri- 
mate of Brasil, who is now a pilgrim here. The Mass was celebrated on an altar im- 
provised in front of the Holy Sepulchre. The function was very solemn and beautiful. 

After the Mass a procession was formed which marched three times around the 
rotunda, the last time going around the Stone of Unction. The procession halted three 
times. The first time the Gospel of the Resurrection according to St. Matthew was 
chanted. At the second halt was chanted the Gospel of St. John; then at the third 
halt the Gospel of. St. Mark. At the termination of the procession the Gospel of St. 
Luke was chanted. Nearly one hundred priests and three bishops walked in the pro- 
cession. 

The functions of the Latin rite were finished at 9:00 a. m., and then the Greeks 
and Copts began their service of Palm Sunday according to their Calendar. A detach- 
ment of Turkish soldiers kept excellent order. 

Dull smoky clouds obscure the atmosphere; the temperature at noon is 82 . 

Easter Sunday at Jerusalem came and went. At its close the consciousness is 
within me that my thoughts have not been worthy of the day and the place. It is so 
easy to fall into the commonplace. No matter how sublime are our surroundings, the 
tendency is strong in human nature to drop back into the commonplace. It is only by 
a conscious effort that we can keep the soul's attention fixed in higher contemplations. 
Our souls are clay-bound. This imperfect state is in my present case aggravated by 
necessary attention to details of our journey, and by our associations with those for 
whom Jerusalem has become an old story. 

The day remained cool: ; at 9:00 p. m. the temperature is only 57 Fahrenheit. 

April 24th. — Mass at the Church of the Perpetual Adoration of the Sceurs Repara- 
trices at 8:00 a. m. ; temperature at 10:00 a. m. 63 Fahrenheit. 

At 10:00 a. m. I again visited what is called the Holy Sepulchre of Gordon. I 
took the following measurements. The tomb is cut in a perpendicular wall of rock, 
from ten to twelve feet high. The present entrance to the tomb is five feet high by 
two feet four inches wide. This entrance has been much larger, but modern masonry 
has been built into the wall at the eastern side of the entrance. In the rock in front 
of the tomb is cut a slanting trough twenty-five feet long, by one foot eight inches, 
greatest width. It seems to have been a water conduit. It could never have been 
a groove for the stone which closed the tomb, as its form is not adapted for such pur- 
pose. This trough was cut along here long after the construction of the tomb, to 
conduct the water into a cistern at the western extremity. The Crusaders divided it 
into sections by inserting cross-stones, and used it for mangers for horses. Traces of 
the staples of the rings to which they hitched their horses are there found. 

All about are traces in the ruins that the Crusaders changed the original form of 
the outside of the tomb, and also built some construction perhaps a stable at the en- 
trance. They certainly showed no honor to the tomb. 



The Holy Fire 



505 



The wall of rock at the entrance is only fifteen inches thick. To the right and 
above the entrance a window eighteen inches wide is cut through the rock. As its 
upper margin enters the rock at a point higher than the plafond of the tomb, it is cut 
in a downward slanting direction penetrating a portion of the plafond. 

The tomb consists of two small chambers. Originally it is probable that these 
two chambers were divided by a thin wall of rock penetrated by a narrow entrance as 
we find in other tombs. This wall has been cut away, leaving only a bar of rock at the 
base, an upper cornice and a projecting margin at the north. The chambers are about 
six feet high. The first, or ante-chamber is fourteen feet nine inches, by six feet six 
inches. The inner room, or grave-room is about the same dimensions. It contains 
three graves. These graves are very rudely made. The}* consist of shallow hollows 
in the floor of the chamber along the base of the north, east, and south wall. They run 
the whole length of the north and south wall ; but the grave at the east wall extends in 
length only the portion of the wall left between the two outer sides of the other two 
graves. It is thus only five feet long. It is also narrower than the others, being only 
eighteen inches wide. It was evidently a child's grave. The bottom of all these 
graves is lower than the floor of the room. The one at the north wall is fully a half 
foot lower. This is the grave falsely believed to be the tomb of Christ. It is seven 
feet three ;inches long; three feet four inches broad. In front of it the slab is still in 
place which was set in a groove to constitute the outer side of the grave. The grave 
on the south side of the chamber is similar, except that the slab forming its outer side 
has been .removed, and the grave is somewhat smaller in all dimensions. The outer 
face-slab has also been removed from the little grave at the east wali. In all the graves 
the floor of the grave slants up at one end, evidently where the head was laid. The 
slab still in place forming the outer side of the grave which some suppose to be Christ's 
is two feet ten inches high, giving to the tomb the appearance of a rude ditch where 
many bodies might be laid together. Everything connected with the tomb is rude 
and poor, which in itself would prove that the tomb could not have been of the rich 
man Joseph of Arimathaea. 

The day has remained cool, at no time in the day did the temperature rise above 
6o° Fahrenheit. 

To-morrow we depart at 6:30 a. m. across the Jordan. 

Though we shall not see the ceremony of the "'Holy Fire," I am able to form some 
idea of it from those who have often witnessed it. It seems that very early the Church 
employed certain symbols of Christ the Light of the world. Thus the Church blesses 
the new fire on Holy Saturday as a symbol of the risen Christ. The abuse of this is due to 
the Greeks. In the ninth century it was reported to the Caliph Hakim that the priests 
at the Holy Sepulchre smeared oil on the chain which supported the lamps in the 
Holy Sepulchre ; and that they then secretly ignited this oil at the vault of the Sepulchre, 
and as the fire crept down the chain to the lamps, they gave out that it came miraculous- 
ly from Heaven. Hakim became a fierce persecutor. 

The superstition that this fire came from Heaven seems to have been largely 
believed by Christians of the Greek rite. Thus the Russian Abbot Daniel describes 
his experience: 

"The following is a description of the Holy Light, which descends upon the Holy 
Sepulchre, as the Lord vouchsafed to show it to me, his wicked and unworthy servant. 
For in very truth I have seen with my own sinful eyes how that Holy Light descends 
upon the redeeming Tomb of our Lord Jesus Christ. Many pilgrims relate incorrectly 



506 



The Holy Fire 



the details about the descent of that Holy Light. Some say that the Holy Ghost de- 
scends upon the Holy Sepulchre in the form of a dove ; others that it is lightning from 
heaven which kindles the lamps above the Sepulchre of the Lord. This is all untrue, 
for neither dove nor lightning is to be seen at that moment; but the Divine grace comes 
down unseen from heaven, and lights the lamps of the Sepulchre of our Lord. I shall 
only describe it in perfect truth as I have seen it. On Holy Friday, after Vespers, 




THE "HOLY FIRE " 



they clean the Holy Sepulchre and wash all the lamps that are there; they fill the 
lamps with pure oil without water, and after having put in the wicks, leave them un- 
lighted; they affix the seals to the Tomb at the second hour of the night. At the same 
time they extinguish all the lamps and wax-candles in every church in Jerusalem. 
Upon that same Friday, at the first hour of the day, I, the unworthy, entered the 
presence of Prince Baldwin, and bowed myself to the ground before him. Seeing me, 
as I bowed, he bade me, in a friendly manner, come to him, and said: "What dost thou 
want, Russian Abbot?" for he knew me and liked me, being a man of great kindness 



The Holy Fire 



.507 



and humility and not given to pride. I said to him , "My prince and my lord, for the 
love of God, and out of regard for the Russian princes, allow me to place my lamp on 
the Holy Sepulchre in the name of the whole Russian country." Then with peculiar 
kindness and attention he gave me permission to place my lamp on the Sepulchre of 
the Lord, and sent one of his chief retainers with me to the custodian of the Resurrec- 
tion, and to the keeper of the keys of the Holy Sepulchre. The custodian and the 
keeper of the keys directed me to bring my lamp filled with oil. I thanked them, and 
hastened, with much joy, to purchase a very large glass lamp ; having filled it with pure 
oil. I carried it to the Holy Sepulchre towards evening, and was conducted to the afore- 
mentioned keeper, who was alone in the chapel of the Tomb. Opening the sacred portal 
for me, he ordered me to take off my shoes: and then, having admitted me barefooted 
to the Holy Sepulchre, with the lamp that I bore, he directed me to place it on the 
Tomb of the Lord. I placed it, with my sinful hands, on the spot occupied by the 
sacred feet of our Lord Jesus Christ ; the lamp of the Greeks being where the head lay, 
and that of St. Sabas and all the monasteries in the position of the breast ; for it is the 
custom of the Greeks and of the Monastery of St. Sabas to place their lamps there each 
year. By God's grace these three lamps kindled on that occasion, but not one of 
those belonging to the Franks, which hung above, received the light. After having 
placed my lamp on the Holy Sepulchre, and after having adored and kissed, with 
penitence and pious tears, the sacred place upon which the body of our Lord Jesus 
Christ lay. I left the Holy Tomb filled with joy, and retired to my cell. 

"On the morrow, Holy Saturday, at the sixth hour of the dav, everyone assembles 
in front of the Church of the Holy Resurrection ; foreigners and natives, people from all 
countries, from Babylon, from Egypt, and from every part of the world, come together 
on that day r in countless numbers; the crowd fills the open space round the church and 
round the place of the Crucifixion. The crush is terrible, and the turmoil so great that 
many persons are suffocated in the dense crowd of people who stand, unlighted tapers 
in hand, waiting for the opening of the church doors. The priests alone are inside the 
church, and priests and crowd alike wait for the arrival of the Prince and his suite; 
then the doors being opened, the people rush in. pushing and jostling each other, and 
fill the church and the galleries, for the church alone could not contain such a multitude. 
A large portion of the crowd has to remain outside round Golgotha, and the place of the 
skull, and as far as the spot where the crosses were set up; every place is filled with an 
innumerable multitude. All the people, within and without the church, cry cease- 
lessly , 'Kyrie Eleison' (Lord, have mercy upon us) ; and this cry is so loud that the whole 
building resounds and vibrates with it. The faithful shed torrents of tears ; even he who 
has a heart of stone cannot refrain from weeping; each one, searching the innermost 
depths of his soul, thinks of his sins, and says secretly to himself. 'Will my sins prevent 
the descent of the Holy Light?' The faithful remain thus weeping with heavy heart; 
Prince Baldwin himself looks contrite and greatly humbled; torrents of tears stream 
from his eyes; and his suite stand pensively around him near the high altar, opposite 
the Tomb. 

"At the eighth hour the orthodox priests, who were over (beyond?) the Holy Sepul- 
chre, with the clergy, monks, and hermits, commenced chanting the Vespers; and the 
Latins, by the high altar, began to mumble after their manner. Whilst all were thus 
singing I kept my place and attentively watched the doors of the Tomb. When they 
commenced reading the 'parosmia' for Holy Saturday, during the reading of the first 
lesson, the bishop, followed by the deacon, left the high altar, and going to the doors 



508 



The Holy Fire 



of the Tomb, looked through the grille, but, seeing no light, returned. When they 
commenced reading the sixth lesson of the 'paroemia,' the same bishop returned to 
the door of the Holy Sepulchre, but saw no change. All the people, weeping, then 
cried out 'Kyrie Eleison!' which means, 'Lord, have mercy upon us!' At the end of 
the ninth hour, when they commenced chanting the Canticle of the passage (of the 
Red Sea), 'Cantabo Domino,' a small cloud, coming suddenly from the east, rested 
above the open dome of the church; fine rain fell on the Holy Sepulchre, and wet us 
and all those who were above (beyond?) the Tomb. It was at this moment that the 
Holy Light suddenly illuminated the Holy Sepulchre, shining with an awe-inspiring 
splendid brightness. The bishop, who was followed by four deacons, then opened 
the doors of the Tomb, and entered with the taper of Prince Baldwin so as to light it 
first at the Holy Light ; he afterwards returned it to the Prince, who resumed his 
place, holding, with great joy, the taper in his hands. We lighted our tapers from that 
of the Prince, and so passed on the flame to everyone in the church. 

"This Holy Light is like no ordinary flame, for it bums in a marvelous way with 
indescribable brightness, and a ruddy color like that of cinnabar. All the people 
remain standing with lighted tapers, and repeat in a loud voice, with intense joy and 
eagerness: ' Lord, have mercy on us!' Man can experience no joy like that which every 

Christian feels at the moment when he sees the 
Holy Light of God. He who has not taken 
part in the glory of that day will not believe 
the record of all that I have seen. It is only 
wise, believing men who will place complete 
trust in the truth of this narrative, and who 
will hear with delight all the details concerning 
the holy places. He who is faithful in little 
will also be faithful in much; but to the 
wicked and incredulous the truth seems always 
a lie. God and the Holy Sepulchre of our 
Lord bear witness to my stories and to my humble person ; so do my companions from 
Russia, Novgorod, and Kief: Iziaslav Ivanovitch, Gorodislav Mikhailovitch, the 
two Kashkitch, and many others who were there the same day." 

The present venal hypocrites, who have charge of the Greek church at the Holy 
Sepulchre traffic in this superstition. Pilgrims of the Greek rite remain in the Church 
of the Sepulchre thirty-six hours in order to get a good place to obtain some of the 
fire, which they believe to possess great healing powers. 

On Holy Saturday at 2 p. m., the ceremony begins. All the lamps belonging to 
the Greeks are extinguished. Some priests enter the Holy Sepulchre. They pray 
there, while the people await in breathless suspense. Finally through a small opening 
in the Chapel of the Holy Sepulchre the fire is thrown forth. Then begins a tumult 
to obtain some of it. It is a foul deceit; a traffic worse than that of the money-changers 
whom Christ drove from the temple. 

April 25th. — We left Jerusalem at 7 a. m., going east by the Jericho road, which 
winds about through successive wadys, the largest of which is the Wady el-Kelt, 
which opens into the Jordan valley. The beds of the wadys are dry and pebbly. The 
fields of grain which were on the wadys and on the lower slopes of the mountains 
were nearlv ripe. The upper portions of the mountains are barren. 




The Wady el-Kelt 



509 



The strata of the mountain sides are wavy, showing the convulsions which have 
here agitated nature. 

After leaving Bethany no other village appears until we reach Jericho. 

At 10 a. m. we came to the Kh an Hadrur, placed by tradition on the site of the 
inn of the Good Samaritan. Up on the hillside is a ruin called Tel' at ed-Dam, • • Hill 
of Blood/' so-called from the redness of the stones. 

We rested a half hour at the Khan, and then rode eastward. The eye grows 
weary of gazing at the deserted and barren mountains of white clay. The road is fairly 
good; after passing the Khan it descends continually more and more. 




KHAX OF ROAD TO JERICHO 



At ii. 15 a. m.. we left the main road, and by a zigzag path to the left we descended 
into a deep gorge in the Wady el-Kelt. This is believed by some to be the torrent 
Cherith where Eliah sojourned. This tradition has no foundation. 

The gorge is deep and a copious stream of water flows through its bed. Some 
ruins of the ancient aqueduct of Herod the Great are here found. 

The holes in the rocks were formerly inhabited by hermits. There is a Greek 
monaster^" here built high up in the rocks. It is built into a ledge of the rocks, and the 
monks live in the holes of the rocks, climbing by ladders, and through slits in the rocks 
to their respective cells. The church is unimportant. The austeritv of these monks 
and those of Mar Saba is directed to move the pilgrims who come thither, to give alms. 



510 



Jericho 



We ate luncheon here, and at 1.45 p. m., we rode eastward along a ledge on the 
north slope of the deep gorge. After a slow march of twenty minutes we came to 
other cells of monks in the holes of the rocks of the mountains. 

At 2.15 p. m., we obtained the first view of the plain of the Jordan. At 2.30 
p. m., we entered it. The plain at the base of the mountain is a barren rocky waste 
with scanty wild grass; there are no dwellers. We turned to the northeast and rode 
past the mountain called Jebel Karantel, "The Mount of the Forty Days' Fast of Our 
Lord." The Greek monks have a monastery high up in the rocks, reached by a diffi- 
cult path. The tradition locating the Lord's fast here is not older than the Crusaders, 
and is impossible. Our Lord withdrew into the desert; but He is not supposed to have 
climbed up the almost perpendicular rock of a wall of rock to seek his place of abode. 

Riding on, in a half hour we came to the Fountain of Elisha. It is an abundant 
source of potable water. 

To the west of the spring is a masonry wall with hard cement, in which is a small 
semicircular niche, facing east, and evidently once containing a statue of the genius 

of the spring. The water flows into 
a shallow reservoir, 40 feet by 24 
feet, and thence is conducted by 
several channels into the plain, 
where it is used for the purposes of 
irrigation. This is, undoubtedly, 
Elisha's Spring, referred to in 2 
Kings ii. 19-22, as being close to 
the city of Jericho. The mound on 
which the old Canaanitish city 
stood is double-headed, the heights 
of the summits above the spring 
being from 20 feet to 30 feet. On 
the north side of the tell there are 
many traces of ruins and also to 

GREEK CONVENT IN WADY EL-KELT ^ eagt &nd south . east> on the 

way to Eriha. The ruins which are visible do not appear to be of any great antiq- 
uity ; but it is possible that some of the many mounds which exist in every direction 
might be found, on excavation, to reveal interesting and important remains. 

To the west of the tell are ruined sugar-mills, dating from the time of the Crusaders, 
and the small vaulted building south of the tell appears to belong to the same period. 
The situation of the double tell is very striking, and we can very well understand that, 
in days so far back as those of Joshua, Jericho must have held the key of the passes 
from the Jordan valley to the mountains of Juda. 

We now see that there are really three Jerichos, situated at the angles of an equi- 
lateral triangle, each side of which is about one mile in length: The modern or Crusaders' 
Jericho at Eriha; the Herodian or New Testament Jericho at Tellul Abu el-'Aleik, 
at the foot of the pass up to Jerusalem; and the ancient, or Old Testament Jericho at 
Tell es-Sultan, commanding the pass up to Bethel. 

Ascending the mound above Elisha's Spring, we can survey the scene from the site 
of the ancient city, and recall the historical associations connected with the famous 
Jericho of old. 




The Jordan 



511 



We continued due east, and soon came into a barren desert of fantastic shaped 
mounds of white marl. 

At 5 p. m., we came to the modern bridge over the Jordan. 

On the Monday of Holy Week several thousands bivouac on the site of Gilgal. 
Every Christian State of Europe and Asia has its representative there. At their head 
marches the Turkish governor of Jerusalem, or his deputy, with an armed escort. 
Some hours before dawn on the following morning the motley throng cross the plain, 
and the first beams of the sun shine upon them as they bathe in the sacred river. 
Old and young, men and women, go down together into the torrent, apparently uncon- 




PLAIN OF JERICHO 



scious of the surrounding crowd. It is part of their religion — a ceremony which brings 
upon them many blessings — and therefore they go through it in spite of all difficulties. 
After the bath, or baptism, they return again to Jerusalem. 

The Jordan, called in Arabic esh-Sheri'ah, flows through a tortuous glen, varying 
from 200 yards to 600 yards in breadth, and from 50 feet to 150 feet below the sur- 
rounding plain. The sides of the glen are abrupt and broken, composed of marl and 
clay, intermixed with strata of limestone. The bottom is smooth and sprinkled with 
shrubs. The banks of the river are fringed with broad belts of tamarisk, oleander, 
and willow, among which weeds and underwood spring up so as to form impenetrable 
jungles — dens for the wild-boar and the leopard, and occasionally for the Bedawin 



512 



The Jordan 



robber. The river flows between deep banks of clay, and in size and appearance is 
not unlike the Tiber at Rome, though more rapid. Its breadth is here from 80 feet to 

100 feet; in several places, however, higher up, 
it spreads out to 150 feet or more, and the 
depth is often from 10 feet to 12 feet. 

The bridge is in a ruinous condition; the 
toll is 1 2 cents of our money for every horse- 
man, 2-J cents for every sheep or foot pas- 
senger, 5 cents for a cow, camel or ass. The 
custodian declared to us that he was obliged 
to give the Turkish government 4 Turkish 
pounds ($20.00) per day. He then has the 
right to collect the above toll. 

We crossed the bridge and encamped on 
We bathed in the Jordan and then prepared for 




TRANS-JORDANIC TYPES 



the east bank close to the river, 
supper. 

The temperature at 9 p. m. was 63 ^° Fahrenheit. 

As the shepherds find it burdensome to pay the toll they generally drive their 
flocks to places where the river is fordable, and then carry them across on their shoulders. 



kit 




THE JORDAN— SHEPHERDS FORDIXG WITH THEIR SHEEP 



Dolmens 



513 



April 26th.— Arose at 4 a. m. Mass in the tent. At 5.46 a. m. we set out east- 
ward towards Madaba. We travelled over a good path through a sandy plain covered 
with brushwood. 

We soon turned somewhat to the south to ascend Mount Nebo. 

The land shows signs of a recent inundation. After a ride of fifteen minutes, 
we made a slight ascent into a sandy plateau covered with thorny shrubbery, wherein 
were manv partridges and pigeons. 

At 7.15 a. m., we crossed a fine stream of water of the Wady Kefren. Its banks 
are bordered with beautiful oleanders in full bloom. At 8.30 a. m., we visited at the 
left of the road some large dolmens. They are large unhewn stones set up inclosing 
a sacred enclosure. These are very numerous in the transjordanic region, and some are 
found in cisjordanic Palestine. Between Wady Kefren and Wady Hesban all the 
spurs are covered with dolmens, about 200 in all. They are usually in groups on Mils 
in the vicinity of springs. Associated with the dolmens are menhirs, or standing stones. 

A fine specimen of menhir is on the north bank of the Zerka M'ain. It is 8 feet 
high, 4^ feet broad, 2 feet thick. 
It stands alone on a flat plateau. 
It is closely allied to the stone 
"pillars" mentioned in the Old 
Testament. 

In connection with the dolmens 
and menhirs stone circles also occur. 
The largest specimen was found in 
the place called Hadanieh, just 
above 'Am Jideid. It is 250 feet in 
diameter, with wall from 2 7 feet to 
41 feet thick. 

The dolmens consist of three, 
four, five, or six stones; the 
simplest are those with a table-stone 
supported on two stone legs. They fountain of elisha 

are in very many cases closed by a 

stone at one end, and in others they have a floor-stone in addition. One specimen 
which we found was a large and carefully constructed monument, a perfect chest with 
top, sides, ends, and floor stone. In size the dolmens vary extremely, from 2 to 6 
feet in height, and from 4 to 14 feet in breadth of the table-stone. The finish of the 
work is also very different in the various groups; those at el Mareighat and Maslu- 
biyeh consist in many cases of stones which have evidently been rudely dressed; and 
very small stones are introduced between the side stones and end stone, so as to prop 
the former up more nearly vertical. At Amman most of the dolmens are of flint- 
conglomerate; in the Jordan valley they are smaller and ruder, being made of dark 
metamorphic lime-stone, which is very hard and rough. 

But although the gate-like or box-shaped monument is the most typical, it is by 
no means the only form which occurs in the large groups examined; there are many 
smaller specimens in which the table stone is supported not by two legs but by stones 
of smaller size irregularly piled up; in some cases one end rests on the ground, on the 
steep slope of a hill side, while on the lower side stones are built up high enough to make 
the top of the table-stone fairly holizontal. 




514 



Dolmens 



The majority of the dolmens, in fact, stand on naked rock, and show no signs of 
a grave. Man)'' are too small to have contained a human figure within the monu- 
ment itself, unless it were the body of a child, while the table-stones without side 
stones are clearly not intended as sepulchres. 

The greater number of dolmens have hollows in the top stone. In many cases 
these might be thought to be merely worn by the rain, but in others they are very 
carefully shaped. One example at Sumieh has five cups varying from 10 inches to 
2 inches in diameter. Near el Kueijiyeh is another large dolmen, the top stone mea- 
suring 8tj feet by 5+ feet, and having 40 holes in all, of which the largest was 10 inches 




JERICHO 



in diameter. Some of these hollows were arranged round the edge of the top surface 
of the stone ; others, near the centre, were connected together by little channels lead- 
ing towards the outer row of hollows. At 'Amman a still more instructive example 
was noted, where the top stone measured 11 feet by 13 feet, with four large shallow 
basins formed in it; these varied from 2 feet to 1 foot in length, and were about 12 
inches deep ; a complete network of shallow channels led from the upper edge of the 
table-stone (which is tilted considerably out of the horizontal) to one hollow in the 
centre of the table. Traces of other channels were observed, and it seemed clear that 
the cups were intended to receive some fluid, poured on the stone and allowed to run 
down from the higher edge. 



Mt. Nebo 



515 



The cup-shaped hollows are not exclusively found in the table-stones, they often 
occur in the flat rock surface beside the monument, and in one case the floor-stone 
had a very well formed cup cut near one end. 
The Arabs still form such hollows in the rock, and 
use them as mortars for grinding gunpowder; 
but their excavations are larger than those near 
the cromlechs; and are black inside from the 
powder. Cup-shaped hollows are common in 
Palestine on bare rocks, often far away from vil- 
lages, and have puzzled the explorers for many 
years. They were thought to be small presses for 
wine, or mortars for pounding the gleanings of 
wheat which are threshed separately by the wo- 
men. It is pos- 




A DOLMEN 



sible, however, 
that they mark 
the sites of form- 
er groups of dol- 
mens" which have 
been destroyed 
by the later set- 
tled population. 

The dolmens 
may be monu- 
ments of prehis- 
toric cemeteries; 
but many of 
them must have 




A DOLMEN 




been associated 
with religious 
rites. 

At 8.40 a. 
m., we crosedthe 
copious stream 
of Wady Hesban 
and began to 
ascend the chain 
of mountains in 
which Mt. Nebo 
must be situated. 

At 10 a. m., 
we passed the 
north-west ex- 
tremity of 'Ain 
Its slopes are faintly 'green. It is a 
The road passes over a 



A DOLMEN 



Mousa 

deep broad wady 
plateau on the north bank. 

At 10.10 a. m., we left the main road, and 
descended by a narrow path southward to the 
fountain Ain Mousa, "Fountain of Moses." The 
spot is picturesque. Here we " ate dinner. 

The fountain flows out of the rock at the 
base of a high mountain. 

We left the fountain -at 1 p. m., going 
south by south-west. 

The ridge of Mount Nebo, to the summit 
of which we next ascend, runs out west from 
the plateau, sinking gradually. A flat top, 
crowned by a ruined cairn, leads to a narrower 
ridge, at the end of which is the summit, with 
ruins on it, whence the slopes fall steeply on 
all sides. The flat top with the cairn is now 



516 



Mount Nebo 



called Neba; the summit is known as Siaghah, and the ascent to the ridge from the 
north is Tal'at es-Sufa. 

Our objective point was the western verge of the mountain whence Moses is sup- 
posed to have seen the Promised Land. The view is beautiful, embracing Gilead 
and all the Promised Land. To the northward the eye surveys an endless sweep of 
mountains. It is as though the billows of a great sea were in an instant turned into 
mountains. The higher peaks of Moab shut in the view to the east. 

We rode over southward to another peak. This has been identified by some as 




MOSES' FOUNTAIN NEAR MT. NEBO 



Pisgah. The real fact is that we are in a region of peaks of mountains; and it is im- 
possible to tell what particular peak is Nebo. 

A monastery existed on Mount Nebo in the fourth century of our era. 

At 2.45 p. m., we left this ridge of mountains and rode eastward. At first only 
patches of grain fields appeared like oases in a desert of rock. We were in the great 
plateau of Moab. As we journeyed eastward the aspect of cultivation of the land 
constantly became better. There were no villages; only the black tents of the Bed- 
awin. 

At 3.15 p. m., we ascended another isolated peak. This is called by the Arabs 
Jebel Neba. From its summit the land of Chanaan stretched out in a sublime pano- 
rama. It has better claim to be considered Nebo than the other peaks ; for Moses com- 



Madaba 



517 



ing from the south-east would here obtain the first view of the promised land, and the 
Bible certainly supposes that the servant of God died after the first view of the land. 

Riding ever eastward, at 3.50 p. m., we came into the main route between Jeru- 
salem and Madaba. As far as the eye can reach over the great plateau the land is 
covered with green fields of grain. 

At 4.^0 p. m., we arrived at Madaba. The plateau is very fertile. 

Madaba, which is situated in its midst, appears once to have been the largest 
town in the district. It is now mostly in ruins, but a colony of Latin Christians is 
settled here. This is evident!}- the site of Medeba, a city of the Moabites, taken by 




Ml XEBO 



Joshua and given, with its plain, to the tribe of Reuben (Numb. xxi. 30; Josh. xiii. 
9, 16). It was on the plain east of the city that Joab defeated the combined forces 
of Ammon and Syria, avenging the insult offered to the ambassadors of King David 
(1 Chron. xix.) Medeba was recaptured by the Moabites at the Captivity; and is 
therefore included in the prophetic curse pronounced upon Moab in Isaiah xv. 2. It 
was an important fortress during the rule of the Maccabees; and it became an epis- 
copal city in the early centuries of our era. 

Its entire population is Christian, made up of three tribes; two of schismatic Greeks 
and one of united Greek Catholics. The Christians of the schismatic Greek rite are 
about 1200; the United Greeks about 380. These Arab Christians are very intelligent 
and virtuous. Madaba has telegraphic communication with Jerusalem. 



518 



Madaba 



April 27th. — Mass in the church at Madaba at 5 a. m. Temperature 43 Fahren- 
heit. Madaba is remarkable for the ruins of its churches. Everywhere are ruins of 
the bases, shafts, and capitals of columns. In the walls of barnyards and in dirty 
angles are found beautiful Corinthian and Ionic capitals. 

The Madaba Mosaic was discovered in 1897 by Cleopas, librarian to the Greek 
schismatic Patriarch. 

Besides its purely historical and geographical interest, the archaeologist will 
find this mosaic an interesting and instructive work. Each town or holy place is repre- 
sented by a building of some kind: Jerusalem, Nablus, and Gaza are encircled by walls; 




MADAliA 



one can recognize the chief gates ; and the public buildings show the outward appear- 
ance of these cities. 

In many of the houses of the schismatic Greeks are fine mosaics. Sometimes in 
the floors of stables we found mosaics of rare beauty. Thus we found some beautiful 
mosaics of the crypt of the Church of St. Eliah coverd by straw and manure. 

In a foul smelling stable we found a fine cruciform Greek baptistery. 

In a house of one of the schismatic Greeks we visited a fine mosaic discovered in 
1892. It occupies the entire pavement of a room 20 feet 8 inches long, by 10 feet 6 
inches wide. It is pagan in character. Various birds and animals are there represented 
with great beauty. There are female heads at two of the angles. It is well preserved. 



Hesban 



519 



There is near one margin a small Greek cross; but it is too insignificant to give to 
the mosaic a Christian character. 

At another house we visited a pagan mosaic a little smaller. It represents beau- 
tiful trees, rabbits, lambs, and a fight between a Hon and a bull. 

At this moment a cry attracted our attention. The people were rushing down 
to the edge of the hill which dominates the plain to the south-east. Horsemen were 
galloping across the plain, and the shepherds were in great commotion. We were in- 
formed that Halil Haman, a Christian had been wounded by a Muslim Bedawy , and 
the men of Madaba were preparing to exact the price of blood from the tribe to which 





FAMILY GROUP AT JERICHO 

the offender belonged. The aggressor is of the sub-tribe Hamid of the tribe Beni 
Sahir of Faiz. The Greek and Latin Christians do not associate one with another, 
except in case of opposition to the common enemy, the Muslim. To-day the churches 
are closed, and all the able bodied men have gone down to the seat of trouble. 

We set out for Hesban at 9.45 a. m., riding northwest through rich fields of grain. 
We arrived at 11. 15 a. m. at Ain Hesban, where a clear stream flows out of a cave, 
forming a brook about 8 feet wide. This shallow brook abounds in fish, and here we 
doubtless have ' ' the fishpools in Heshbon ' ' (Song of Songs, vii. 4 ). A steep winding path 
from the stream leads up to the ancient city on the plateau of the hill above it, and at 
the top is a passage cut through the rocks. This rock-cut passage appears to have 
been formerly closed by gates, and here perhaps we have "the gate of Bathrabbim" 



520 



Hesban 



(ibid.) The ruins on the top of the plateau are those of a large Roman tower, but 
there is little worthy of notice from an architectural or antiquarian point of view. 
Here, however, once undoubtedly stood Heshbon, the important capital of "Sihon, 
king of the Amorites." The gigantic Emims were the aborigines of this land; but they 
were dispossessed by the Moabites, who were in their turn driven out by the Amorites 
under Sihon (Deut. ii.). The Israelites advanced from the southeast, round the terri- 
tory of Moab, passed the river Arnon, marched over the plateau to the heights of 
Pisgah on its western brow, overlooking the Dead Sea. Their further progress was 
barred by the Amorites, who held the passes which lead down from the plateau to the 




RUSSIAN PILGRIMS AT THE JORDAN 



Jordan valley. Hence Moses was compelled to ask leave to pass through the territory 
of Sihon. The request was refused, and Sihon marched against the Israelites. He 
was routed, and the victory was decisive, for his kingdom was immediately overrun, 
as well as that of his ally, Og, king of Bashan (Numb. xxi. ; Deut. ii., hi.) Heshbon 
stood on the border between Reuben and Gad, but was assigned to the Levites in the 
territory of the former (Josh. xxi. 39). After the captivity of the ten tribes Heshbon 
was taken possession of by the Moabites, and hence it is mentioned in the prophetic 
denunciations against Moab (Isa. xv. 4; Jer. xlviii. 2, 34, 45). In the fourth century 
of our era it was still a place of some consequence. It has now been for centuries de- 
serted. 



Rabbath Ammon 



521 



A commanding view is obtained from the summit of the hill, extending on the 
south to the mountains that surround Kerak; on the east across the plain of Moab as 
far as the eye can see; on the north to the wooded heights of Ajlun; and on the west 
to the hill-country of Judaea, where Jerusalem, Bethlehem, and the Frank Mountain 
may be distinguished. A number of interesting sites, too, are within view. Through 
a depression on the west we look down into the Jordan valley. On the south rises the 
barren peak of Attarus, probably the site of the Alaroth of Numb, xxxii. 3. 
Far away on the southeast, twenty miles off, a good telescope will show the tower of 
Umm Rasas. Two miles north by east, on the summit of a tell, is El-'Al, the Elealeh 
of Scripture. 

'Ain Hesban forms an excellent camping-ground. About a mile below it is a 
mill ; and on the top of a hill not far distant is a khan where the Adwan Arabs 
are said to keep some of their stores. 

At 12.15 P- m -> we left Hesban, riding 
north to El-Al which we reached at 1.45 p. m. 

Here we ate dimmer. 

El-'Al, signifying "the High," is so-called 
from its commanding situation on the sum- 
mit of a rounded hill. It was formerly 
surrounded by a well-built wall, of which 
only a few fragments now remain. The in- 
terior is a mass of ruins, consisting chiefly of 
foundations and large cisterns half-filled with 
rubbish. This is the site of Elealeh, men- 
tioned in connection with Heshbon (Numb, 
xxxii. 3, 37; Isa. xvi. 9), from which it was 
only about miles distant. 

About a hundred rods south of the sum- 
mit in a field of grain are some menhirs. The 
first rises two feet above the soil. It is rect- 
angular, 6 feet 10 inches in circumference. 
In the top is a square trough 10 inches THE MAN WITH THE PL0W 

square, 9 inches deep. A circular hole 5 

inches in circumference pierces the stone from face to face on a level with the 
bottom of the trough. It must have pertained to Moab's Baal worship. 

A few rods further south two other menhirs were found; one of these resembles 
those of Gezer. It is 5-^ feet high, and 6 feet 6 inches in circumference, unhewn. 
The second is smaller. 

We left El-Al at 2.30 p. m., going northeast towards Rabbath Ammon, the Ro- 
man Philadelphia. Its Arabic name is Amman. 

The road passes over a plain where the hills bound the horizon. At 3.10 p. m. 
we rode up through a narrow opening in the hills into another narrower cultivated 
plain. At this point the land was a succession of low hills of white clay with occa- 
sional patches of green fields. 

At 3.37 p. m. we left the cultivated fields and rode along a dugout on the slope 
of a deep wady. Five minutes later the bed of the wadyrose into a cultivated pla- 
teau. The plateau is broad and fertile; we rode by the largest Bedawin encampment 
that I had thus far seen. They have many flocks. There are several large encamp- 




522 



Rabbath Amman 



ments; in one of which I counted from 50 to 60 tents. Thousands of sheep and goats 
were grazing on the hillsides. Here we entered the great Roman road leading to 
Amman. At 5 p. m., we ascended a little ridge and looked down on a vast expanse 
of growing grain. The land is the exclusive possession of Bedawin. At 5.20 p. m., 
we came in sight of Amman. It lies in a long narrow wady. The strata of the rocks 
on the mountain side are disposed in wavy lines showing evidence of the convulsions 
of nature. 

As we descended through fields of grain, the slope that leads down to Amman, 
about 20 Bedawin horsemen came riding against us at full gallop. They were well 




THE JORDAN 



mounted, and guided their horses by a^mere halter. As the leader approached he 
brandished his saber in truly warlike fashion. The manoeuvre may have been meant 
to frighten us, but as we showed no fear, they saluted and passed on. 
We arrived at Amman at 5.50 p. m. 

April 28th. — We arose at 5 a.m. It rained some during the night, and the morning 
is cool; temperature, 45 Fahrenheit. 

After Mass in the tent and breakfast of boiled eggs, bread and coffee, we began our 
inspection of the ruins. 

Amman, is the site of the great and important city of Rabbath-Ammon, the ancient 
capital of the Ammonites. The Ammonites and Moabites are said to have been de- 



Rabbath Ammon 



523 



scended from Lot, and was thus allied to the Israelites. Ammon and Moab drove out the 
gigantic aboriginal inhabitants east of the Dead Sea and the Jordan. But they were 
themselves expelled by the Amorites from a portion of this territory, embracing the 
declivities to the west and the plateau between Heshbon and the Jabbok (Numb, 
xxi. ; Deut. ii.). This portion became the inheritance of the tribes of Reuben and 
Gad; while the Ammonites retained the semicircular tract of mountains enclosed by 
the Jabbok, and extending from Rabbah on the south to the ford at Gerasa. Their 
border here "was strong," as stated in Numb. xxi. 24; they also appear to have occu- 




WESTERLY VIEW OF AMMAN 



pied the plain eastward. On the captivity of the ten tribes, Moab and Ammon regained 
their ancient possessions. 

Rabbath-Ammon is first mentioned in Deut. iii. 11, as the place where the "iron 
bedstead" of the giant king of Bashan was deposited. But it is chiefly celebrated for 
the siege it stood against the Israelites under Joab, during which the unsuspecting 
Uriah was slain. Joab on his first attack took "the city of the waters" — that is, 
evidently, the lower town, situated along the banks of the river. But the citadel 
still held out ; therefore messengers were sent to David asking for a reinforcement and 
the presence of the King himself, in consequence of which the King of Israel went in 
person, and captured the citadel, in which was found a great abundance of spoil, 
together with a royal crown of enormous weight and value, which David appropriated 
for himself. 



524 



Rabbath Ammon 



In the third century B. C. the city was rebuilt by Ptolemy Philadelphus, king of 
Egypt, and called Philadelphia, under which name it is frequently mentioned by Greek 
and Roman writers, as one of the cities of the Decapolis. In the early centuries of our 
era it was the seat of a bishopric, and remained a strong and prosperous city until the 
conquest of Syria by the Saracens ; but it was soon afterwards, like many others, ruined 
and deserted. 

The site of Rabbath-Ammon is one of the most weird and desolate in Syria at the 
present day. It lies in a silent valley, hemmed in between hills, so that, unlike most 
of the ancient cities of importance to the east of the Jordan, it commands no distant 




AMMAN— ROMAN FORTRESS 



prospect. The valley is watered by a stream which flows in an eastern direction from a 
source at the west extremity of the ruins. Another valley comes in from the north; 
and on its eastern side, at the point of junction, rises an isolated rugged hill, on which 
stands the citadel commanding the town, and capable of separate defense. The abun- 
dant waters attract the flocks that roam over the neighboring plains, and the deserted 
palaces and temples afford shelter to them during the noonday heat; so that most of 
the buildings have something of the aspect and stench of an ill-kept farmyard. 

As we approach Amman from the south we cross the little Roman bridge of three 
arches, and then ford the stream, which has altered its course. Near the source of the 
stream is a mausoleum, square without and circular within, ornamented with Corin- 



The Theatre at Amman 



525 



thian pilasters and a chaste cornice. Behind it is a large Christian church, afterwards 
converted into a mosque, the minaret of which remains perfect. Another church or 
temple appears to have stood a few paces farther down on the banks of the stream, but 
only a fragment of the side walls now remains. Farther down the stream we reach a 
Forum, or public promenade. On the side next the river is a curved wall supported by 
round towers; while on the other side is a range of Corinthian columns, of which four still 
stand, without their capitals. From the ruins and fragments of columns that strew 
the ground, it would seem that this structure extended considerably to the north. 
The river, in its course through the city, is confined within a channel of masonry; 




THE THEATRE AT AMMAN 



its bed was once paved, and a section of it arched over. Some distance below the 
portico an ancient bridge of an single arch, still entire, spans the stream. Crossing 
this, we proceed a few hundred paces southward, amid prostrate columns and heaps 
of rubbish, and reach the Theatre, one of the largest in Syria, placed against the side 
of the southern hill, and part of it excavated in the rock. The front is open, and was 
originally ornamented by a Corinthian colonnade, of which eight columns remain, 
surmounted by their entablature. When complete there must have been at least 
fifty columns. Those that remain are about 15 feet high; and, though not in the purest 
style, have a striking and, indeed, beautiful appearance. Within is an arena of horse- 
shoe form, 128 feet in diameter. Round this are forty-three rows of seats, separated 



526 



The Citadel at Amman 



into three tiers by broad passages, and approached by seven flights of steps. The 
second tier of benches has doors communicating with an arched passage behind, which 
opens upon side staircases. In the centre of the uppermost bench is an excavated 
chamber, with an ornamental cornice, and a niche of a shell pattern on each side. 
This building must have been capable of accommodating more than 6,000 spectators. 

Not far distant is another smaller theatre or Odeon ; but it is little more than a heap 
of ruins. The three arched doorways are perfect ; and the stage may be traced, though 
encumbered with the debris of the fallen roof. The proscenium is handsomely orna- 
mented with a Corinthian frieze and cornice, in good preservation. 




AMMAN— VIEW OF THEATRE AND COLONNADE 



Recrossing the bridge we observe, a little to the right, the remains of a temple, 
consisting of part of a wall with several chastely sculptured niches and some shafts of 
a portico. The whole space to the right for nearly one-quarter mile farther is covered 
with the ruins of private houses intermixed with columns. There is also a street, 
once lined with colonnades, extending to the eastern gate. 

The Citadel is a rectangular building of great extent. The exterior walls are con- 
structed of large stones closely jointed, without cement, bearing in places the marks 
of high antiquity. The foundations are laid somewhat below the crest of the hill, 
and on the north side the rock is scarped and a deep ditch cut through it so as com- 
pletely to isolate the fortress. The walls do not appear to' have ever risen much above 



Rabbath Ammon 



527 



the level of the summit within, which is now covered with ruins. Among these is a 
temple with a portico and peristyle of Corinthian columns, whose fragments he around 

The fortress and temple appear to date from the second century. But the most 
interesting building on the citadel h ill is of a later date, and appears (see Syrian Stone 
Lore. p. 353) to be a specimen of the Sassanian architecture of Persia. The whole 
building, of which the south wall appears to have been injured and afterwards rebuilt, 
is 85 feet long by 80 ieet wide, and in it is a central court 33 feet square, on each side 
of which is a vaulted chamber 18 feet square and 27 feet high. The central court has 




FACADE OF TEMPLE OF AMMAX 



apparently never been roofed in. The original use of this building is not clear, but it 
does not seem to have been either a church or a mosque. Conder suggests that it was a 
kiosk or summer-house, erected either in the time of Khosroes — i.e. about the year 
620 — or that it is of very early Muslim origin, dating from the same period as the Dome 
of the Rock at Jerusalem. The panelling and scroll-work on the walls is very beautiful 
and perfect, and is closely alhed to Assyrian work. 

Close to the outer wall of the citadel, on the north, are the foundations of another 
building, which apparently resembled the one just described, and which seems to have 
been a mosque. These remains at 'Amman are highly interesting and important, 
as assisting to form a link between the Byzantine architecture and that of Persia. 



528 



Rabbath Ammon 



To the west of the citadel, on the slope of a hill, is a very fine group of dolmens, 
resembling those at Nebo and Heshbon; and on the south-west is a single specimen 
of demi-dolmen standing quite alone. On the hills to the west and north of 'Amman 
are several magnificent menhirs. 

In the valley on the west and on the hill to the north are several specimens of 
Phoenician and early Jewish tombs. The Roman cemetery lay south of the town. 
The Palestine Exploration surveyors discovered an underground secret passage north 
of the citadel, and this may probably be the one spoken of by Polybius as being used 
by the garrison during the siege of the city by Antiochus the Great in 218 B. C. 




RUINS OF TEMPLE IN THE FORTRESS OF AMMAN 



A Circassian colony is now settled at 'Amman, having been planted here by the 
Sultan when the Circassians were expelled from Russia. 

Passing through one of the narrow streets, we found in the corner of a rude oven 
a fine stone bearing a Latin inscription: aemilius carus legatus augusti pro- 
praetor. It is probably a tombstone. 

Farther westward in the wall of a dwelling we found a stone 31 inches broad by 
2 1 inches high with a horned head and bust of Jupiter Ammon. The Circassians showed 
us a small head of Medusa which they had found in one of the grottoes. 

The great temple on the summit of the hill in the ruins of the citadel must have 
been destroyed by an earthquake, as the mighty ruins lie scattered about as though 



From Amman to Jerash 



529 




A FALLEN COLUMN AT AMMAN 



bkran about by the wind. The avails of the great temple were 6 feet 8 inches thick, 
of great blocks laid without cement. I measured one of the bases of the columns. 
It is a monolith whose lower surface is 6 feet 6 inches square. The upper surface is 
circular, 5 feet 4 inches in diameter. It is 2 
feet 6 inches thick. 

A great column fifteen feet in circumfer- 
ence and thirty-eight feet high lies there as it 
fell. It was composed of sections. 

Near the northeast angle of the temple 
there projects out of the ground in a leaning 
position a great piece of the architrave. It must 
have been tossed in the air by a might}" force 
as it is some distance from the temple, and 
leans from it. It projects out of the . earth 
eleven feet. It is three feet four inches from 
the upper line of its cornice to the bottom 
where it rested on the columns. Its upper 
surface is two feet seven inches thick. 

We departed at 12:30 p. m. northward 
towards Jerash. After ten minutes we left 
the bed of the wad}*, and ascended to the 
northwest. The summit of the hill spreads 
out into a splendid plateau of cultivated land. 
At 1 145 p. m. the plateau narrowed, and passed between gentle slopes of mountains, 
constantly ascending. At 2:00 p. m. we visited an unidentified ruin bv the wayside. 
At 2:05 p. m. we descended into a large valley parti}- cultivated. Here were an en- 
campment of the Bedawin and flocks. We rode out of this valley through a narrow 
opening and descended into another large cultivated valley. Here is a fork in the road ; 

the western road goes to Es-Salt, 
the eastern bifurcation to Jerash. 

At 2:40 p. m. we descended 
into a shallow wady of rich fields 
of grain. The wady turns sharply 
eastward growing deeper as it ad- 
vances. On the mountains are 
many dolmens. 

We left the wady at 2:50 p. m. 
ascending to the north. The land 
here is rocky and barren. At 3:10 
p. m. we rode along the side of a 
mountain east of a large vallev in 
which was a large Bedawin en- 
campment. At 3:20 we descended 
into the large plain of El Buka'a. 
The whole plain was dotted with the black tents of the Bedawin. 
Here we pitched our tents at 3:50 p. m. 

April 29th. — Arose at 5:00 a. m.; Mass in the tent. The night was cool; tem- 
perature at 5:00 a. m. 43 Fahrenheit. 




REPOSE IN THE PLAIN 



530 



From Amman to Jerash 



We departed at 6:50 a. m. due north. At 7:10 a. m. the plain sloped down and 
narrowed itself into the winding course of a dry wady. At 7:20 we left the wady, 

passing over a gentle slope. The 
way passed from wady to wady. 
At 8:55 a.m. we crossed a fine stream 
called the Rumman a confluent of 
the Jabbok. At 9:10 we turned 





THE JABBOK WADING THE JABBOK 

sharply eastward along the South bank of the Wady Rumman and passed 'Ain Umm 
Rabbi. A few evergreen oaks relieve the barrenness of the hills. 




GENERAL VIEW OF JERASH 



From Amman to Jerash 



531 




JERASH— SOUTHERN EXTREMITY OF GRAND COLONNADE 



At 9:30 a. m. we passed Mustabe on the 
summit of a hill to the west. 

At 9 :$o a. m. we began to dec end into 
the Wady Zerka, the ancient Jabbok. We 
crossed it at 10:20. a. m. and halted on 
its bank for dinner amid luxuriant groves 
of oleanders, which line its banks. . The 
great wady winds around through the 
mountains, ever deepening until it enters 

the Jordan 
valley. A 
fine stream 
flows with 
very swift 
cu r r e n t 
through the 
wady ; it is 
easily ford- 

JERASH— ORNAMENTED BASE OF COLUMN 





GRAND TEMPLE AT JERASH 



532 



Jerash 



able. We bathed in its waters, and were much refreshed for a dinner of cold 

mutton and Arabic bread. '<> \ 

t r 

At 12:40 we set out for Jerash. The way rises over plateaus and sinks into wadys 
alternately. The cultivation of the land is poor. 

At 1:50 p. m. we rode into sight of Jerash. The road descended and crossed a 
small wady, and then ran through ploughed fields to the mausoleum of Jerash. We 
arrived at 2:00 p. m. 

Jerash, is better known as Gerasa. The ruins of Gerasa are the most extensive and 
beautiful east of the Jordan. They are situated on both sides of a valley which is shut 
in by wooded mountains on all sides except the south where it descends to the grand 




JERASH— THE SOUTH GATE 

ravine of the Jabbok, five miles distant. A rivulet, fringed with oleander, winds 
through the valley, giving life and beauty to the deserted city. The first glance at 
the ruins is very striking. The long colonnade stretching through the centre of the city, 
terminating at one end in the circle of the forum ; the groups of columns clustered here 
and there round the crumbling walls of temples; the heavy masses of masonry that 
mark the positions of the great theatres; the vast field of shapeless ruins rising gradu- 
ally from the banks of the rivulet to the battlemented heights on each side — form a 
picture such as is rarely equalled. The form of the city is an irregular square, each 
side measuring nearly an English mile. It was surrounded by a wall, portions of which 
still remain, with towers at intervals. Three gateways stand, and within the city 
upwards of two hundred and thirty columns remain on their pedestals. 



Jerash 



533 



In describing the ruins, we shall commence at the south, and proceed up the west- 
ern side of the stream, on which the principal buildings he, returning by the eastern 
side. 

On approaching Gerasa from the south, the first monument which attracts atten- 
tion is a Triumphal Arch in a florid style of architecture, with a central and two side 
arches. The front is ornamented with four col umn s, the lower parts of whose shafts are 
decorated with foliage. The upper parts, with the frieze and cornice, are gone. Pas- 
sing the arch, we have on the left a large stadium, rectangular towards the south, but 
semicircular at the northern end. It appears to have been occasionallv filled with 




THE SOUTH TEMPLE OF JERASH 



water for the exhibition of Xaumachiae, or sea-fights. At three hundred yards from 
the triumphal arch we reach the city gate, having a triple entrance like the arch itself. 

Having entered through the gateway, we turn to the left and ascend the steep 
side of a mound, on the top of which is The South Temple, one of the most beautiful 
buildings in the city. It fronts the main street, and commands an extensive view. 

It had a peristyle, and a portico of two rows of Corinthian columns, eight in each 
row. They appear to have been thrown down by an earthquake, and most of the shafts 
He in order along the declivity. One column of the peristyle alone remains standing. 
The capitals are beautifully executed, and the entablature is in good taste. The side 
walls of the cell remain, and are ornamented with a row of niches on the outside, and 
pilasters within; but the front and back walls, as well as the roof, have fallen. The 



534 



Jerash 



dimensions of the cell are about seventy feet by fifty feet. The commanding situation 
of this temple, and its fine proportions, must have made it an object singularly strik- 
ing, especially from the main street. 

The Great Theatre is on a little hill about sixty paces west of the temple above 
described. It faces the town, so that the spectators on the upper benches had a view of 
the principal buildings. There are 28 ranges of stone benches, divided into two 
tiers by a broad passage. The Proscenium was highly ornamented. Within it was a 
range of Corinthian columns in pairs. Corresponding to these were pilasters; and 




THE GREAT THEATRE AT JERASH 



between each pair of pilasters were alternately an ornamented niche and a doorway. 

In front of the temple is a fine open space, surrounded by columns in an elliptical 
row, reminding one of the piazza leading to St. Peter's at Rome. It is generally called 
the Forum. The diameter at its widest part is three hundred and eight feet. The 
ground is not quite level, and the columns have therefore been made of different heights 
so as to preserve the uniformity of the entablature. This was continuous, except at 
the south, facing the temple, and at the north where the piazza opens into the main street. 

Fifty-seven columns still stand, and most of them have their entablatures, but 
originally there could not have been less than one hundred. The columns are Ionic, 
without pedestals, two feet in diameter, and from sixteen to twenty feet high. 



Jerash 



535 



Passing through the opening at the north, we now enter the great Street of 
Columns. It is a remarkable peculiarity of the great cities of Syria that each had a 
street lined with colonnades. Damascus had its Via Recta, or "Street called Straight," 
thus adorned. The remains of that at Palmyra are familiar to everyone. Apamea, 
Antioch. Philadelphia, and Samaria were similarly ornamented: and here we have the 
Via Columnata of Gerasa still magnificent in its decay. Colonnades once extended 
along the sides from the forum to the north gate, and enough remain to give an idea of 
the whole. They are mostly of the Corinthian order, but debased in style, and diff ering 
in height and workmanship. When a high column stands near a shorter one, the 




INTERIOR OF GREAT THEATRE OF JERASH 



entablature of the latter rests upon a projecting bracket set into the shaft of the former. 
Proceeding along this street, whose pavement is in places perfect, we reach a point where 
another street crosses at right angles; and here stands four cubical masses of stone, 
each occupying one of the angles of intersection. Three of them are entire, seven feet 
high, and about twelve feet on each side ; but the fourth is in ruins. Thev mav have 
been intended as pedestals for statues. The street that here runs to the right and left 
had also a colonnade on each side. Continuing along the main street, we have on the 
right and left sections of the colonnades with the entablature entire. We next observe 
on the left, in the line of the street, a building of which three great columns of the por- 
tico, and the back curved wall of the cell, are all that remain. In the wall are several 
niches, and on a broken pedestal of the portico is an imperfect Greek inscription, ap- 



536 



Jerash 



parently containing the name of Marcus Aurelius Antoninus, which might fix its date 
between 160 and 180. Behind this to the westward is another building in ruins. About 
one hundred paces farther, and nearly in the centre of the city, is a group of buildings of 
great beauty and extent. On the right is an avenue lined with columns running at 
right angles to the street, and leading to a gateway (thirty paces distant), opening into 
a large enclosed area, around which are ranges of columns, seven of them standing with 
their entablatures. This splendid structure appears to have formed the approach to 
the Temple of the Sun, the propylseum of which is on the opposite side of the main street. 
In later times a circular apse was built on the east, and a doorway constructed on the 




NORTH END OF GRAND COLONNADE AT JERASH 



west, so as to convert a section of the colonnade into a church. The colonnade was orig- 
inally connected with a bridge, which appears to have spanned the river at a great 
height. 

Immediately opposite this church, or basilica, is a gateway on the left side of the 
colonnade, adorned with pilasters and niches, etc. The arch itself has fallen in. This 
is the Propylaeum, or portico of the great Temple of the Sun, which stands on the rising 
ground to the west. The buildings which flanked the gateway on the interior are en- 
tirely destroyed; but the facade is in tolerable preservation, and is one of the most 
entire examples of this kind of structure extant. From an inscription copied by Burck- 
hardt, it appears to have been built under Antoninus Pius (i 38-161). Scrambling over 



Jerash 



537 



masses of-" ruin, we climb the hill, and the columns of the temple itself burst upon our 
view. 7| Eleven are standing, two of them without their capitals; they measure about 
forty-five feet in height, and five feet in diameter. This temple stands on an artificial 
platform, elevated five feet or six above the ground. It was peripteral, but the columns 
of the peristyle have disappeared, with the exception of one at each side adjoining the 
portico. The latter consisted of two ranges of columns, six in each; five of the front 
range still stand, and four of the second. The cell is about seventy feet by fifty feet; 
the interior is encumbered with the ruins of the roof and front wall. The sides remain, 
and have no ornament except a range of six niches. The shell of the temple was evi- 




THE PEDESTALS AT THE CROSSING OF THE COLONNADES AT JERASH 



dently remodeled to form a church; the western end is new, and has a curious double 
arch. The temple stands in a great court, which was surrounded by a double colon- 
nade. Two columns of the outer row still stand, and the bases of many others are in 
situ; the corner columns are heart-shaped. An inscription found on the propylaeum 
states that the temple was dedicated to the Sun. 

Returning to the main street, and advancing northwards some two hundred }^ards 
between ranges of prostrate columns, we reach a cross street, which intersects the main 
street at right angles. Turning up to the left, we observe three small Ionic columns, and 
a little distance beyond them a double range of Corinthian columns. There were orig- 
inally six in each row; but now five remain standing in one row and two in the other. 
These form a portico to a Second Theatre, which, though larger in area than the one 
already visited, was not constructed to contain so many spectators. It has sixteen 



538 



Jerash 



ranges of benches, divided by a tier of six boxes, having between them sculptured 
niches. This theatre appears to have been intended for purposes different from the 
other — perhaps for gladiators or combats of wild beasts ; the arena is larger, and there 
is a suite of arched chambers under the lowest bench opening into it near the principal 
entrance. The Proscenium has fallen, but traces of it remain. 

Crossing the mam street, we next visit a Roman Bath, a building of great extent 




A NICHE AT JERASH 

and strength. It is divided into numerous chambers, with high vaulted roofs and 
massive walls. It covers a square area upwards of two hundred feet on each side ; and 
the western side appears to have had a range of columns in front. It was evidently a 
bath. 

. ' We again return to the main street, and proceed northward. It will be observed 
that the colonnades along this section are mostly of the Ionic order. The greater part 
of them have fallen. As we approach the city gate, portions of the ancient pavement 
remain perfect. The northern gate was a strong plain portal ; and the wall on each side 



Jerash 



539 



was of fine workmanship, about eight feet thick. Both gate and wall are now in ruins. 
The valley, which is only about one hundred yards east of the gate, is here narrow, and 
the banks steeper than at any other part. Crossing the bed of the stream, and ascend- 
ing for a short distance, Ave arrive at the extensive ruins of a Christian church; only a 
fragment of the walls, an arched doorway, and a single column in the interior remain 
standing; but the heaps of hewn stone, broken columns, and shattered cornices that 
encumber the ground, prove that it was as beautiful as it was extensive. It was prob- 
ably the Cathedral of Gerasa. Adjoining this on the south is a little meadow, having on 




PROPYL.EA AT JERASH 



its east side a ridge of rugged rocks; and near its centre a fountain surrounded by a 
group of ruined buildings — most probably the ruins of a temple. 

Continuing down the valley on the east side of the stream, we reach the ruins of a 
bridge just opposite the Propylaeum of the great temple. We now observe on the left 
some portions of mosaic pavement on a path which leads down to extensive baths, 
situated in a low area. They were surrounded by an open court with Corinthian colon- 
nades. The subterranean aqueduct, which brought water to them, is still almost per- 
fect, and used for irrigating fields and gardens lower down the glen. Just south of the. 
baths the river is spanned by a high bridge of three arches, still nearly perfect. It leads 
to a street lined with columns, which runs westward, crossing the main street. The 
whole face of the eastern hill is covered with the ruins of private dwellings. 



540 



Jerash 



Jerash has not been identified with any Jewish City. 

The first mention of this place, under the name of Gerasa, occurs in Josephus, who 
relates that Alexander Jannaeus, king of the Jews, "having subdued Pella, directed his 
march to the city of Gerasa, lured by the treasures of Theodorus; and having hemmed in 
the garrison by a triple wall of circumvallation, carried the place by assault" (circ. 
B. C. 85). This proves that the city does not owe its origin to the Romans. It is 
mentioned by Ptolemy, Strabo, Pliny, and other Greek and Roman writers; but no 
details are given of its history. Soon after the Roman conquests in the East this region 




BATHS AT JERASH 

became one of their favorite colonies. Ten cities were built, or rebuilt, and endowed 
with peculiar privileges ; and the district was called Decapolis. 

This district appears to have been of considerable dimensions, for, according to 
Pliny, it extended from Damascus on the north to Philadelphia ('Amman) on the south, 
and from Scythopolis (Beisan) on the west to Canatha (Kunawat) on the east. It 
seems doubtful, however, whether Damascus itself was included, for Josephus says that 
Scythopolis was the largest city of Decapolis (Wars iii. 9, 7). The following appear to 
have been the ten cities: 

Scythopolis, now Beisan Philadelphia now Amman 

Gerasa, " Jerash Canatha, " Kunawat 

Gadara, " Umm Keis Capitolias, " Beiter-Ras 

Hippos, " Khurbet-Susiyeh Dion, " Eidun 

Pella, " Fahil Abila, " Abil 



Jerash 



541 



Of these, Gerasa was second in importance only to Scythopolis. 

It was among the cities which the Jews burned in revenge for the massacre of their 
countrvmen at Ceesarea, at the commencement of their last war with the Romans; and 
it had scarcely recovered from this calamity when the Emperor Vespasian despatched 
Annius. his general, at the head of a squadron of horses and a large body of infantry, 
to capture it. Annius, having carried the city on the first assault, put to the sword 
one thousand of the youths who had not effected their escape, enslaved their families, 
and permitted his soldiers to plunder their property. He then set fire to their houses, 
and advanced against the villages around. It appears to have been more than half a 




SOUTH END OF PROPYL.^UM AT JERASH 



century subsequent to this period that Gerasa attained its greatest prosperity, and was 
adorned with those monuments which give it a place among the proudest cities of Syria. 
Ancient historv tells us nothing of this, but the fragments of inscriptions found among 
its ruins show that it is indebted for its architectural splendor to the Antonines (138 to 
180). Gerasa became the seat of a Christian bishop. There is no evidence that it was 
inhabited for any length of time by the Saracens. There are no traces of their architec- 
ture, no mosques, no inscriptions, no reconstructions of old edifices, such as are found 
in most other great cities in Syria. All is Roman, or at least ante-Islamic; every 
structure remains as the hand of the destroyer, or the shock of the earthquake, left 
it — ruinous and deserted. 



542 



From Jerash to Der'at 



April 30th. — Arose at 5:00 a. m. ; temperature 52 Fahrenheit; Mass in the tent; 
continued visit of ruins; departed at 10:40 a. m., going northeast. We ascended a 

rocky ascent, and then descended 
into a rocky wady with scattering 
brushwood. 

At 11:40 a. m. we again as- 
cended into a small plateau 
covered with rocks and evergreen 
oaks. At 11:55 a. m. we rode up 
on a ridge, and saw the great 
Hermon covered with snow over 
on the northern horizon. We 
again descended into a deep wady, 
and at 12:25 P- m - halted beneath 
a great evergreen oak in the wady. 
The tree is fourteen feet in circum- 
ference. At eight feet' from the 
base the branches begin and they 
spread out over a large area. Here we ate dinner. We departed at 2:00 p. m. going 
north through the wady. We soon ascended and rode over a sloping plateau covered 




SACRED TREE AT DER'AT 




BEDAWIN EATING RICE 



From Jerash to Der'at 



543 



with fields of grain. At 2:15 we descended into a wady, crossed it, and ascended to 
the northwest. 

At 2:30 p. m. from a slight elevation we came into sight of the great plain of the 
Hauran. It was covered with rich fields of grain. 

A* 3 :i 5 P- m - ^"e rode through the village of Naame. Passing through a wady we 





water carriers 



rode up over a sharp ascent to the north. From the summit we saw El Husn in the 
plain to the north. 

We rode along the rock slope to the east of the small wad}-, crossed over, and at 
5:00 p. m. we arrived at El Husn. This village has no historical interest. It is the 
principal village in the district of Beni 'Obeid. A fine mission of united Greek Chris- 
tians is here founded. 

May 1st. — Arose at 5:00 a. m.. Mass in the mission church; rain during the night; 
temperature 50 Fahrenheit. 



544 



The Hauran 



We departed at 8:20 a. m. going east through great fields of grain. At 10:35 a. m. 
we reached er-Remtheh supposed by some to be the place of meeting of Jacob and 
Laban. 

We passed through small wadys and over plateaus. At 11:20 a. m. we halted 
for lunch on the eastern border of a large plateau. 

We resumed our journey at 1.00 p. m. over an undulating plateau. At 1.13 p. m. 
we reached Der'at, the ancient Edrei where Israel smote Og the King of Bashan. It 
lies at the western border of the great plain of the Hauran which is the ancient Bashan. 




PHI- SHEPHERD \VI HI His SHEEP 



The Hauran is a large district of plain and mountain, bounded on the west by the 
Haj road, on the north by the Wady el-Ajam, on the east and south by the Syrian 
desert. It is divided into three portions— the Lejah, the Nukrah, and the Jebel ed- 
Druse. 

The Lejah is a rocky plateau of singular wildness, corresponding to the Hebrew 
Argob (see Deut. iii. 4; 1 Kings iv. 13) and the Greek Trachonitis (St. Luke hi. i). It 
is in reality one vast sea of lava, about three hundred and fifty square metres in extent, 
and twenty feet above the surrounding plain. Its edges are jagged and irregular, and 
its precipitous smooth sides are, for the most part, insurmountable. Paths have been 
excavated in the solid lava, leading to the towns in the interior. The whole appear- 
ance of the black, basaltic mass is in the highest degree remarkable, and is probbaly 



The Hauran 



.545 




unique. In some cases the lava has cracked in cooling, and huge fissures appear in 
the surface of the ground; in other parts the plain is like a waving prairie ; and in others 
again, it is covered with curious split hillocks. One can frequently distinguish the 
eddies formed by the lava cooling 
whilst in the very act of running. 
Notwithstanding its apparently un- 
suitable character, the Lejah has 
at one time been thickly in- 
habited. The whole region is filled 
with deserted towns and villages, 
and many of the houses there 
are perfect. In many places there 
are copious fountains of pure, 
sweet, cool water. 

The Nukrah, or "Plain," is the 
Hauran proper, known by the 
same name in Hebrew times (Ezek. 
xlvii. 1 6), and as Auranitis by the 
Greeks. It lies to the south of 

the Lejah, and is an unbroken plain of the richest soil, which produces a prodigious 
abundance of grain, making this district the storehouse of Damascus. A vast quantity 
of wheat is exported from the Hauran, several thousands of camels arriving weekly at 
Acre and Haifa during the season, laden with grain from this district alone. The 
present railway from Haifa to Damascus opens up this fertile country, and it is 
estimated that the produce of the Hauran will provide sufficient freightage of 
itself to ensure a good interest on the outlaid capital. Like the Lejah, it is filled with 
a vast number of deserted towns and villages; those which are at present inhabited 
being occupied chiefly by Muslims, though a few Christians live among them. 

The Jebel ed-Druse, as the 
name implies, is tenanted almost 
exclusively by Druses. There are 
however, a few small Bedawin 
tribes who encamp amid the forests, 
and act as shepherds for the Druses. 
The district is a mountain to the 
east of the Hauran. and is called in 
the Old Testament "the hill of 
Bashan" (Ps. lxviii. 15). By the 
Greeks it was called Batansea, 
which is simply a Greek rendering 
of Bashan ; whilst the Romans knew 
it under the name of Mons Alsada- 
mus. The soil of the district is 

BRIDGE AT DER'AT c , . j" 

fertne, though stony, and the 
scenery in some places is very beautiful. As in the Lejah and the Nukrah, so in the 
Jebel ed-Druse, we meet with ruined towns in every direction. 

The whole Hauran is interesting for its ruins and Greek. Latin, Nabatean, and 
Arabic inscriptions. 




546 



Der'at 




BASALT SARCOPHAGUS 



From the distance Der'at resembles the charred remains of a burned city. This is 
due to the fact that it was built of black basalt. 

We reached the ancient necropolis west of the ancient city at 2:15 p. m. The 

Arabs have dug into many of the 
rock-cut tombs seeking treasures. 
Many basalt sarcophagi lie about, 
or are built into walls. 

I measured some of them. 
One was seven feet two inches 
long; two feet three inches wide; 
two feet three inches thick outside 
measurements. Inside it was six 
feet four inches long ; one foot seven 
inches wide ; one foot four inches 
deep. 

On a little hill just outside 
the city is a Muslim place of 
prayer. It is a grotto thirty feet 
by twenty feet; eight feet high. 
The vault is supported by Ionic columns. It is evident that the Ionic style of archi- 
tecture predominated in the ancient city. The door of the Muslim Sanctuary is hung 
with rags as votive offerings. 

Der'at is situated in a fold of Wady Zeidy, the deep channel sweeping in a semi- 
circle round its northern side. The ruins are about three metres in circuit; the modern 
village, though large, occupying only a small part of the site. Near the centre of the 
town is a rectangular building, now a mosque, but formerly a church and convent. 
There is a large court surrounded by rude cloisters, and on one side of it a church with 
aisles, divided by piers and fragments of columns. The whole materials have been 
taken from older buildings. In the court is a sarcophagus with bas-reliefs of lion's 
heads. In one corner is a square tower of modern date. At the northwestern end of 
the town is a huge reservoir, with ruined baths adjoining, of the Roman age. It is con- 
nected with an aqueduct, which crosses the valley from the north on a series of semi- 
circular arches. 

Der'at is a remarkable place, for at least four cities exist here, one above another. 
The present Arab buildings are on the top of 
a Grseco-Roman city, and this again stands on 
the remains of one still older, in which bevelled 
stones were used. Beneath this again is a 
troglodyte city, entirely excavated in the rock 
on which the upper cities stand. 

At the southwest angle of the great reser- 
voir is a wall fifty feet long; twenty-five feet 
high. The Muslims say that treasures are 
hidden within, and no one is allowed to 
enter. It is the ancient mausoleum. basalt capital 

The mosque is one hundred and sixty feet square. It is built out of ruins; and 
has eighty-five columns, every one with different style of capital. The mosque has a 
portico on three sides and a place of prayer on the south, one hundred and fifty feet 




BOZRA 



547 



long by fifty-seven feet wide. The roof of porticos and place of prayer is constructed 
of rudely hewn beams of stone covered with flat stones and earth. We have not seen 
thus far such barbarous use of splendid ruins. South of the mosque we found the apse 
of a large basilika. The outside of 
the apse is clearly visible ; on the 
inside the carved line is more faint- 
ly indicated. East of the city in 
the Muslim cemetery we found four 
corinthian columns set in the earth 
in the form of a square ten feet 
apart. They are surmounted by 
stone beams. They may ornament 
a grave, or be a place of prayer. 
Where the road crosses the wady 
is a ruined bridge still serviceable. 
A ruined aqueduct runs along the 
wall of the bridge. The natives 
employ some fine sarcophagi as 
watering troughs. Under the city 
is a perfect labyrinth of galleries. Of these the natives have a superstitious dread. 
The population of Der'at is four thousand. 

May 2nd. — Arose at 4:45 a. m. Mass in. tent. We departed at 6:45 a. m. along the 
north bank of the Wady ez-Zeidy. Two mounted soldiers of the garrison at Der'at 
accompanied us. We rode east through the great plain through fields of grain and 
lentils. We crossed the railroad which comes down from Damascus three quarters 
of a mile east of the city. We halted for dinner at a spring of water at 11:35 a. m. 
At 1:08 p. m. we departed; at 4:30 p. m. we came to the ruins west of Bozra. The 
plain for half a mile outside the walls of the city is covered with ruins. The stone is 

black basalt. Several pagan altars 




PAGAN ALTAR AT BOZRA 



with Latin inscriptions lie about. 
Bozra is sometimes called Eski 
Sham, "Old Damascus," by the 
natives. It was once the greatest 
city of the Hauran. 

We entered through west gate. 
It is partly preserved ; the entrance 
is twenty feet wide; sixteen feet 
high ; it is ornamented with pilasters 
and niches. 

The ancient city walls were 
nearly rectangular; but suburbs 
extended beyond on east, north, 
and west. A straight street inter- 
sects the city from east to west, 
and another crosses it at right angles, near the centre. 

In ancient times Bozra was one of the great commercial centres of Syria, and 
from here to the Persian Gulf was an important caravan route. From it led off innum- 
erable roads by which the Hauran was intersected, traces of which may still be clearly 



<* 




GATE OF BOZRA 



548 



BOZRA 




TRIUMPHAL ARCH AT BOZRA 



seen. Under Diocletian the Province of Arabia comprised the entire region now known 
as the Hauran, south to the river Amon, and west as far as the edge of the valley of 
the Jordan, and of this province Bozra was the capital and the centre of trade with 

Arabia proper, the wealthy merch- 
ants coming thither for this pur- 
pose, among whom may be reckoned 
Muhammad and his uncle ; and it 
was in this town that a poor monk 
taught Muhammad. 

The Crusaders struggled vainly 
to take the city under Baldwin 
III., and Saladin used it as his 
base of operations for his wars 
against the Franks. The earth- 
quake of 1 151 A.D. almost wrecked 
Bozra, and since then it has fallen 
into decay ; although the old Syrian 
proverb, "The prosperity of Bozra 
is the prosperity of the Hauran," is 
still quoted and believed in. 
The most important buildings appear to have been grouped round the point of 
intersection. The lines of many other streets can be traced, from which it appears that 
the Roman city was built with great regularity. The ruins worthy of particular note 
are as follows: 

1. A Temple, on one of the angles formed by the intersection of the two main 
streets. Only a fragment of the wall of the cella remains ; it is ornamented with three 
ranges of niches. The two exterior columns of the portico stand. They are about 
three feet in diameter, though their height is more than forty feet. They have high 
pedestals of white marble. The 
capitals are Corinthian, but in bad 
taste. In front of this building, on 
the opposite side of the street, are 
four beautiful Corinthian columns. 
The capitals are perfect, but the 
architrave is gone. To the north 
is a line of open vaults thought to 
have been the Bazaars of ancient 
Bozra. 

2. A Triumphal Arch. In 
walking along the main street 
westward from the ruined temple 
we pass a large building with 
massive walls and vaulted cham- 
bers; it was probably a bath. A RUINS OF cathedral of bozra 

little beyond it, on the same side of the street is a Triumphal Arch. It measures 
forty feet in length by twenty feet in bi-eadth, and about forty feet in height. 
It has three arches — a large central and two side ones. The angles are 
ornamented with pilasters, and between the arches are niches. A Latin inscrip- 




BOZRA 



549 




RESERVOIR AT BOZRA 



tion states that it was erected in honor of Julius Julianus, prefect of the first Parthian 
Philippine Legion. 

Proceeding eastwards, the remains of Baths can be seen on the right; and im- 
mediately beyond, where two 
streets cross, there are on the left 
four fine colu m ns with Corinthian 
capitals. There are also the re- 
mains of some building which 
must have been very beautiful 
from the fragments of colonnade, 
rows of niches, etc., which are 
still left. It is in such a ruined 
state that it is impossible to do 
more than conjecture that it was a 
temple. Over a gateway close by 
tradition has placed the house of a 
Jew who was said to have had it 
unjustly seized upon, but restored 
to him after the Khalif Omar took 
down the mosque erected on its site. 

3. The Great Mosque, said to have been erected by the Khalif Omar. The en- 
trance is by a small door close to the minaret. It is well worth while to ascend the 
minaret for the sake of the magnificent view. Eastwards we look across to Salkhat. to 
the southwest lies the Jebel 'Ajlun, while in the distance the mountains of the Hauran 
can be seen. Immediately below is the beautiful plain of the Nukrah, which in the spring 
time is bright with flowers. There is a porch supported on columns and a carved frieze 
runni n g along the walls. On the east side of the mosque is a quadrangle with a double 
open passage on two sides, the arches of which are supported on ancient columns, while 

on each of the other sides there is 
but one row. Seventeen of these 
are monoliths of white marble, the 
others are basalt; two of them are 
Ionic in form, and the rest Corin- 
thian. The building is a patchwork 
made up of the plunder of more 
tasteful structures. Two of the 
marble columns contain Greek in- 
scriptions — the first commencing 
with the words, "In the the name 
of Christ the Saviour;" and the 
other bearing the date 383 (A. D. 
489). They probably belonged to 
the cathedral of Bozra, and per- 
haps to a still earlier temple. 
On the opposite side of the street from the mosque is a large bath in ruins. 

4. The Great Church is situated about three hundred yards southeast of the 
mosque, and is called by the present inhabitants "the Church of the Monk Boheira." 
A special interest attaches to the name of the said monk Boheira. Muhammad. 




BOZRA — EXTRAXCE TO CASTLE 



550 



BOZRA 




THE THEATRE AT BOZRA 



so tradition says, made several visits to Bozra, when a young traveling merchant in 
the employ of the widow Khadijah, who was his future wife. Here he became ac- 
quainted with the Christian monk Boheira, who afterwards accompanied him to Mecca, 

an assisted him in writing the 
Koran. The church above de- 
scribed is the oldest in the Hauran, 
with the exception of that at 
Edhra'a which was built three 
years before it. 

Just outside the north side of 
the city wall is the mosque of El- 
Mebrak, the "place of kneeling," 
where tradition has it that Muham- 
mad's camel knelt. 

5. The Reservoirs. On the 
east side of the city is a reservoir 
three hundred and ninety feet square 
and fifteen feet deep, the walls of 
which have many curious masons' 
marks upon them. On the south side of Bozra is a still larger reservoir, five hundred 
and thirty feet long by four hundred and twenty feet wide, and twenty feet deep. On 
the west of the city, again, are the remains of a third reservoir, larger than either of 
the others ; it was apparently at least one thousand three hundred and fifty feet long by 
five hundred and sixty feet wide. The city has 
numerous other cisterns and reservoirs in vari- 
ous parts, and was evidently amply supplied 
with water. 

6. The Castle of Bozra is one of the 
largest in Syria. The outer walls are nearly 
perfect. It is surrounded by a moat, which can 
be filled with water. It stands beyond the 
walls on the southern side of the city; but 
there are some traces of a more ancient wall, 
which appears to have included it. It is an 
oblong building, with massive corner and flank- 
ing towers. The entrance is at the east end, in 
an angle of a deep recess, and the approach to 
it is now by a paved road over the fosse. 
The gate is in its place, studded with nails 
and covered with iron plates. The interior is 
a labyrinth of half-ruinous courts, halls, corri- 
dors, staircases, and vaults, with Greek inscrip- 
tions here and there on loose stones and on 
tablets in the walls. The southwestern tower, 

the loftiest in the building, commands a noble view over the surrounding plain. Salk- 
hat is seen on the east crowning its conical hill, a road running to it straight as an 
arrow; and on the west is Ghusam, to which another Roman road runs, continuing 
westward to the old tower of Der'at. 




COLUMNS AT BOZRA 



BOZRA 



551 



But the most interesting object in the castle of Bozra is the Theatre, which stands 
in the centre of the building. The upper tier of six benches is still perfect, as are also 
the arched vomitories underneath. Round the top bench ran a Doric colonnade sup- 
porting a covered walk. The columns are thirteen inches in diameter and ten feet high 
and they stand at intervals of five feet. Only two or three now remain in situ. A 
careful examination shows the architecture of various ages and peoples in the Castle 
of Bozra: the foundations are possibly Jewish, or at least belong to the Jewish period; 
the theatre is Roman ; and the exterior walls are Saracenic. The vaults and dungeons 
are encumbered with heaps of rubbish; and we have little doubt that excavation here, 
and at other points in the city, would bring to light important relics of antiquity. 

The castle occupies a commanding position for the defence of the country against 
the Arab tribes ; and there is a Turkish garrison in it. 

On each side of the stage is a large chamber, the exterior ornamented with Doric 
pilasters corresponding to the colonnade. 

7. The Western Gate. From the castle we may follow the wall round to the 
Western Gate, or, as the natives call it, Bab el-Hawa ("the Gate of the Wind")- It is a 
Roman arch, nearly perfect, ornamented with pilasters and niches. It terminates the 
main street, and from it a paved road runs straight across the plain to the village of 
Ghusam. 

Four Nabatean inscriptions have been copied from the ruins of Bozra: one is 
on a sarcophagus; another is on an altar dedicated to the god Katisu; a third records 
the erection of a temple by a certain Thairtiu; it is imperfect. The Greek inscriptions 
are numerous. 

History of Busrah. — The ancient name of this city was clearly Bozra. Now there 
are at least two Bozras mentioned in Scripture. One was in Edom (Isa. lxiii. 1), and 
is identified with Buseireh. The other was in Moab (Jer. xlviii. 24). The latter 
may have been the place we are now visiting; though it seems doubtful whether 
Moab ever stretched so far north as this. If it did not, this city is not mentioned 
in the Old Testament. It is, however, without doubt, the Bosora mentioned 
in 1 Mace. v. 26-28 as a city taken by Judas Maccabaeus. In 105 Bozra 
was made the capital of a Roman province, and was called Nova Trojana Bostra. 
From this date commences the Bostrian Era, found on so many of the inscrip- 
tions of Syria. During the reign of Alexander Severus (222-235) Bostra was 
raised to the l'ank of a Colonia. In 245 Philip, a native of Bostra, was raised 
to the imperial throne, and his own city was then constituted a metropolis. 
When Christianity was established in the Roman Empire, Bostra became the seat of 
a metropolitan, thirty-three bishops being subject to him. Beryllus, a famous eccle- 
siastical writer, lived here. He was at first a zealous champion of the orthodox faith, 
but afterwards lapsed into heresy, from which he was again turned by Origen, who 
presided over a council here. 

When the Muslims invaded Syria, Bostra, as a frontier city, was the first place 
assaulted, and it soon fell into their hands. Since that time it has rapidly declined 
until now only a few families live among the crumbling ruins of this once proud capital. 
Tradition reports that Bozra was the home of Job. 

The four great columns standing south of the ruins of the bath in Bozra are one 
of the finest ruins in the world. They are monoliths of basalt, over thirty feet high; 
12 feet 10 inches in circumference. 



552 



From Bozra to Damascus 



The men and boys of Bozra braid their hair in long braids which hang down over 
their faces. They paint about their eyes with kohl. They look most effeminate. 
The women are all tatooed. 

In the ruins of Bozra we find many circular stones perforated by ten holes or more ; 
these were their ancient windows. Another curious feature is their doors made of 
great slabs of basalt swinging on a pivot. All about are Latin, Greek, and Nabatean 
inscriptions. 

May 5th. — Arose at 5.30 a. m. ; thunderstorm during the night; departed at 8.10 
a. m. northward. At 8.42 a. m., we crossed the old Roman bridge over the Wady 
el-Deheb. The bridge is of three arches well preserved. There is a Greek inscription 
on the east side. The way then led through a plain covered with vast fields of lentils. 

We entered Charaba at 9.45 a. m. This village is inhabited entirely by schis- 
matic Greek Christians. There are some old Roman ruins. 

The present church is made of an ancient ruin. It is very dirty. The pavement 
is of irregular blocks of stone. At one side of the church were some sledges used to 



ancient name of the village was Canatha; but is must not be confounded with the 
great Canatha farther east in the Jebel Hauran whose present name is Kunawat. 

The ruins of Kerak give evidence that the town was once a flourishing Christian 
village; and so one finds it all through the Hauran. It is only after seeing these ruins 
that one realizes what a curse Islam has been to the world. 

May 6th. — We departed from Kerak at 8.47 a. m., reached Racham at 9.23 a. m. ; 
much of the plain is stony. At Racham are a few ruins of a church. 

We departed from Racham at 9.37 a. m. ; entered Melihat 'Ali at 10.10; at 10.55 
we passed by Na.chite and entered Bozor at 11.48 a. m. Here we ate dinner. Bozor 
is just on the southwestern border of the Ledjah of Trachonitis, a great plateau of 
lava. 

There are many inscriptions and ruins of Greek churches at Bozor. In the mosque 
the Muslims show the tomb of an unknown patriarch anterior to Noah. The tomb of 
the mother of the prophet is 18 feet 3 inches long. It is open to the sky; and the Mus- 
lims say the woman must see the sun, and will allow no covering over her. The Arabic 
name of the place is Busr el-Hariry. 




thresh the grain. The images were 
begrimed. The chalice and other 
sacred vessels were in a hole in the 
wall with some old rags as one 
might find in a stable. The priest 
was poor, ignorant, and dirty. The 
ignorance of this land is appalling. 



We left Charaba at n a. m. ; 
arrived at El-Jubeb at noon. This 
village is also entirely inhabited 
by schismatic Greek Christians. 
The ruins are unimportant. 



COLUMNS AT BOZRA 



We left El- Jubeb at 2.15 p. 
m. in a blinding rain. At 4.15 we 
reached Kerak. We camped in an 
open field outside the village. The 



Ezr'a 



■553 



We departed at 2.20 p. m. and entered Ezra at 3.45 p. m. The way ran over a 
plain of lava. 

Ezr'a is called bv some Edhra'a; and has been identified with the ancient Edrei. 
We believe it far more probable 
that Der"at which we have already 
described is Edrei: and that Ezr'a 
is the ancient Zorava. 

The site is a strange one — 
without water, without access ex- 
cept over rocks and through 
defiles. Strength and security 
seem to have been the objects in 
view, and to these all other ad- 
vantages were sacrificed. The 
rock}" promontory is about one and 
one-half miles wide and two and 
one-half miles long: it has an eleva- 
tion of from thirty to fifty, feet 
above the plain, which spreads out 
from it on each side flat as a sea. The ruins are nearlv three miles in circumference, 
and have a strange look, rising up in black shattered masses from the wilderness of 
black rocks. A number of the old houses remain; they are low, massive, and 
gloomy, and a few of them are half buried beneath heaps of ruins. In these 
reside the present inhabitants, selecting such apartments as are best fitted for 
comfort and security. The short Greek inscriptions, which are here and there seen 
over the doors, prove that the houses are at least as old as the age of Roman do- 
minion. Ezr'a was at one time adorned with a number of public edifices: but time 
and the chances of war have left most of them heaps of ruins. Numbers of Greek 

inscriptions are met with; the 
greater part of them are of Christ- 
ian times. The principal buudings 
remaining are as follows: 

The Church of St. Elias, in the 
south-east part of the town. In 
front of it is a little court, sur- 
rounded on three sides by mounds 
of ruins. The roof has fallen, and 
the walls alone remain. Over the 
entrance is a Greek inscription 
recording its erection under the 
episcopate of Varus, by a deacon 
called John Methodius. 

Near the centre of the town is 
a cloistered quadrangle, the purpose 
of which it is difficult to tell. Perhaps it was designed in Roman times for a forum, 
then converted by the Christians into a Cathedral, and finally used as a mosque. 
On the northern and southern sides are ranges of columns supporting groined 
arches; and across the centre of the area formerly ran a double range of Doric 





554 



SUNAMEIN 



columns of a larger size, now prostrate. Over the entrance gate are three inscribed 
tablets; but only one of them is legible, and it is inverted. 

The Church of St. George stands in the northeast part of the town, and is nearly 
perfect. The interior is octagonal, with a large and high dome supported on piers. 
Over the door is a long inscription informing us that the building was first a heathen 
temple, but was converted into a church in the year 410 (A. D. 516). 

Around the outside of the cupola on a level with its base extends a terrace of earth 
ten feet wide. The eastern side of the cupola is pierced by a cannon ball of the Muslim 
wars. In a chamber back of the niche at the right of the altar is a large heap of human 
bones. They are brought hither from the graveyard by the side of the church. No 
great care is taken in carrying them into the church ; some lie among the stones at the 
side of the church. The terrace of earth encircling the base of the cupola is supported 
by very fine stone beams laid close together. They are the finest we have seen in the 
Hauran. 

The ruined mosque originally consisted of twelve naves ten feet wide, and one 

hundred feet long. Even the 
Christian men and boys of Ezr'a 
braid their hair and paint black 
their eye-lids; the women tattoo 
themselves. 

May 6th. — Arose at 5 a. m. ; 
Mass in the tent. We departed 
at 7.30 a. m. by a difficult path 
over the lava. At 7.50 a. m. we 
gained the cultivated plain ; at 8.28 
a. m., we passed Shakra; small 
ruins. Its population is all Greek 
Schismatics. At 8.35 a. m., we 
crossed the railroad in a great 
plain of green fields. At 9.15 

MOSQUE AT EZR'A & m ^ pagsed el _ Med j del; at n.^ 

a. m., we entered Sunamein. We dined in the shade of the ancient temple. 

Sunamein ("the Two Idols"), which may perhaps have received its present name 
from the two figures which may be seen on a block of basalt lying near the gate ; they 
are much battered; though still sufficiently distinct to be recognized by any passer-by. 
In the town are several square towers, similar to those so often met with in the old 
cities of the Hauran; there are also many large buildings, and some of the houses are 
in the best style of Hauran architecture — massive walls, stone doors, stone roofs, 
and stone window-shutters. The most striking building is a temple, more recently 
used as a church. It is of limestone, and forms a marked contrast to the dark basalt 
around it. The style is Corinthian, and it is profusely ornamented. Near it are the 
ruins of other temples or public buildings, in one of which is an old oil-press. From 
a Greek inscription we learn that one of the temples was dedicated to the Goddess 
Fortuna, and was built during the reign of Severus (222-235), who is represented as a 
benefactor of the people of Aere. Here, then, we have the ancient name of the place, 
and are able to identify a station mentioned in the "Itinerary of Antonine," on the 
road from Damascus to Neve and Capitolias. x\ere is given as thirty-two Roman miles 
south of Damascus, and thirty north of Neve. The former distance is correct ; but the 




Damascus 



555 



latter is erroneous, doubtless owing to the carelessness of a transcriber. Nawa is only 
fifteen Roman miles from Sunamein. . 

Sunamein is on the Haj route, and its inhabitants are all Muslims. The Haj . 
road from Mezarib to about ten miles south of Sunamein forms the boundary between 
the Hauran and the Jaulan; and thence northward to Jebel Khiyarah it divides the 
former from Jedur, the ancient Itursea. By the "Haj orHadj" route we designate 
the route over which the Muslim pilgrims of the north pass on their way to Mecca. 
After making this pilgrimage every one is called "Hadj." 

About 300 feet south of the ruined temple stand two fine Corinthian columns 
supporting a simple architrave. The columns are 12 feet high. They are of two 
sections; a garland in relief adorns them where the sections are joined. Greek inscrip- 
tions and crosses abound. In a stable we found a broken architrave of marvelous 
beauty. There is carved in relief a beautiful cluster of grapes and a leaf at each end. 
At the northern limits of the ruins near a square tower are considerable ruins of a church. 
The span of the apse is 33 feet. Part of the western side is built into a dwelling. 

We departed at 4 p. m. We rode north through the great plain to the east of the 
railroad. The snow line of the great Hermon 
mingled with the clouds on the northwest horizon. 

There is nothing on the way but the mono- 
tonous plain. 

We arrived at Ghubaghib at 6 p. m. It is a 
railroad station. The water there is abundant 
but bad. 

May 7th. — Arose at 3.50 a. m. ; Mass in 
tent; depart at 8.08 a,m. The plain is scattered 
with fragments of lava ; unfruitful . 

A mile north of Ghubaghib the plain passes cross at sunamein 

into a series of low hills. The region is called the jebel el-Abaye. Passing over 
these we struck the main carriage way leading into Damascus. 

At 1 1 . 1 5 a. m. , we arrived at Kiswe. It is situate in a low sandy plain, well watered 
by the Nahr el-Awadj, identified as the ancient Pharpar. I bathed in its muddy 
waters. 

We ate dinner, rested, and departed at 2.25 p. m. The land is not fertile. 

At 3.20 p. m., we came in sight of Damascus. The city is in a great fertile plain, 
and beautified by many groves. We arrived at camp in Dareya at 4.15 p. m. The 
village is well watered; the walls of the gardens and of many dwellings are of blocks 
of unbaked clay. 

May 8th. — Arose at 5.50 a. m. ; Mass in the tent. There had been a slight frost. 
The north-east prolongation of Mt. Hermon was only a few miles distant; it was snow- 
covered. 

We departed at 7.50 a. m. ; at 8.35 a. m., we entered el-Meidan, the southern sub- 
urb of Damascus. 

The street is at first winding; but it is wide, and several ruinous mosques of elegant 
architecture give it more variety than is usual in Damascus thoroughfares. The street 
at length becomes nearly straight, and is in places more than 100 feet wide. Down 
this the Haj proceeds in state every year on the 15th of Shawal. It forms one of the 
great sights of Damascus. The sacred Mahmil is carried on the back of a dromedary. 
It is a tent-like canopy of green silk, embroidered with gold and supported on silver 




556 



Damascus 



posts. It contains the new covering and other gifts sent by the Sultan for the Ka'aba 
at Mecca. From Damascus to Medina is twenty-seven days' march, but ten or twelve 
days extra are spent en route. Thence to Mecca is eleven days' march ; from eighteen to 
twenty days are spent at Mecca and Arafat. The pilgrimage occupies about four 
months. The Haj is yearly decreasing in importance and numbers. 

The suburb of Meidan, which owes its shape and existence to the fact that by this 
road the Haj leaves Damascus, is a curious projection from the city, extending for one and 
one-half miles in a southerly direction, like the handle of a frying-pan, spoon, or mirror. 
On each side of the broad road are shops, dwellings, storehouses, and mosques, until 




ST. PAUL'S WALL AT DAMASCUS 



the whole terminates in the Bawwabeh Allah, or "Gates of God." In the Meidan 
dwells a strange assortment of characters — Arabs from the desert, Druses from the 
Hauran, mollahs, corn-merchants, hangers-on of the Haj, and last, but not least, 
dancing, howling, and miracle-working dervishes. 

We rode the whole length of el-Meidan, and then rode around the walls, passing 
the spot where St. Paul is said to have been let down in a basket. The lower courses 
of masonry are ancient. 

It is often said that Damascus is "the oldest city in the world." Without com- 
mitting ourselves to any such statement as that, we may say that its history reaches 
back into the misty regions of antiquity ; and it was already a noted place in the time 
of Abraham (Gen. xiv. 15, xv. 2). David conquered the city and placed a garrison 



Damascus 



OOi 



there; but it again fell out of the hands of Israel during the reign of Solomon (see 
2 Sam. viii. 5, 6; i Kings xi. 24. 25). Under the dynasty of the Hadads. Damascus 
became the capital of the kingdom of Syria, which was a constant rival and enemy 
of that of Israel. The most interesting episode of this period, so far as concerned Da- 
mascus itself, was that connected with Naaman the Syrian (1 Kings >:x.. xxii.. 2 Kings 
v., vi.) The murder of Benhadad by Hazael brought on a new dynasty, and the new 
monarch raised the city and kingdom to a higher pitch of prosperity than had before 
been attained. This did not, however, last long, for Tiglath-pileser, King of Assyria, 
took the city in 732 B. C, and from this period its independence was lost. Notwith- 
standing this, its commercial prosperity continued, owing to its unique position and 
wonderful natural advantages. 

In B. C. 333 Damascus fell into the hands of Alexander the Great, and afterwards 
it became the possession of the Ptolemies. About a century before the Christian era, 
Antiochus Cyzicenus took the half of the kingdom of the Seleucidse (his brother Gry- 
hus having the other half), and fixed his residence at Damascus. In B. C. 88 Demet- 
rius Eucaeurus. king of Damascus, defeated Alexander Jannaeus at Shechem. In 
B. C. 84 Aretas, king of Arabia, took possession of the city; but in B. C. 64 it sub- 
mitted to the Romans under Pompey. The pro-consul occasionally resided here, 
though Antioch had become the capital of Syria (Jos. Ant. xiv. 9. 2; 4, 5). 

On the death of Philip, tetrarch of Ituraea and Trachonitis (St. Luke iii. 1), those 
states were annexed to the Roman province of Syria, which bordered on the dominions 
of Aretas, father-in-law to Herod Agrippa. The latter, having divorced his wife in 
consequence of his guilt}" passion for Herodias, incurred the enmity of Aretas, who 
marching across Gaulanitis, seized Damascus, just about the time of the death of 
Tiberius, in A. D. 37; and it was during the time when "the governor, under Aretas 
the king, kept the city of the Damascenes with a garrison," that St. Paul was let down 
by a basket through a window in the wall (2 Cor. xi. 32, 33) some time after his con- 
version (Acts ix. 1-25). During the reign of Trajan, Damascus became a Roman 
provincial city. At the council of Nice (325) the metropolitan of Damascus was pre- 
sent, with seven of his suffragans. 

In 634 Damascus fell into the hands of the Muslims; and in 661 Moawyah, the 
first Khalif of the Omeiyades, made Damascus the capital of the Muhammadan empire. 
Under this warlike dynasty. Europe, Africa, and Asia, from the Atlantic to the Hima- 
layas, fell under the dominion of the Muslim sway, and Damascus thus became the 
center of one of the most extensive and remarkable empires of history. The Omei- 
yades adorned the city with many splendid buildings, chief among which was the 
Grand Mosque; but, in erecting their palaces, they unfortunately made use of materials 
from structures of a purer taste. Roman colonnades and porticoes were destroyed 
and mutilated; and only a few scattered and isolated fragments remain to mark the 
spot of many a beautiful building. 

But the Omeiyades, like all Muslim dynasties, were unable to maintain in the 
time of peace the results which had been achieved by their military prowess. Profli- 
gacy and licentiousness produced moral and physical degeneracy, and by degress their 
superiority faded away, and Damascus became lost to their sway. During a stormy 
period of four centuries the city passed successively into the possession of the Tulunides 
and Fatimites of Egypt, who were in their turn superseded by the Seljuks. a nomadic 
Turkish race. The Crusaders, under Baldwin, Conrad, and Louis VII., made an at- 
tack upon Damascus in 1126, but the record of the unsuccessful campaign reflects 



558 



Damascus 



little credit upon the Christian arms. The Cross never replaced the Crescent in the 
capital of Syria, which was taken possession of by the illustrious Nur Eddin in 1153. 
Under this ruler, and his still more distinguished successor, Salah ed Din (commonly 
known as Saladin), the city enjoyed a brilliant history. 

In 1260 it was captured by the Mongols, but soon afterwards they were compelled 
to retire before the noted Bibars. During the last year of the fourteenth century, 
Tamerlane — whom Arab writers haVe styled el-Wahsh ("the Wild Beast") — laid siege 
to Damascus, and perpetrated many outrageous barbarities after he had taken posses- 
sion of the city. Never had Damascus during its long history so fearfully experienced 




COURT OF HOUSE AT DAMASCUS 

the horrors of conquest. Its wealth was dissipated in a day. Its stores of antiquities 
and costly fabrics were seized by those who had not the taste to appreciate their beauty, 
or the sense to estimate their worth. Its palaces were pillaged, and left in ashes. 
Its libraries, filled with the valuable Arabic literature and with writings of the fathers 
of the Eastern Church, were ruthlessly destroyed. Its noted armorers were carried 
away to Samarcand and Khorassan, which have, ever since that time, supplanted 
Damascus in the art of making "blades." A century later the city fell into the hands 
of the Turks, who have remained its masters to the present day. 

In 1 860 occurred the terrible massacre, the effects of which have not even yet died out 
entirely in Damascus. It is said that over 5000 Christians were murdered in cold blood 



Damascus 



559 



during the three days of the 9th, 10th, and nth of July; and many thousands more, 
who escaped the sword, perished afterwards from the effects of fright, famine, or pri- 
vation. Their houses were burned; their property swept away; the survivors were 
driven forth homeless, penniless, naked, and wounded. The women and girls were 
subjected to untold outrages, and many of them were consigned to the worst form of 
slaverv. The massacre was perpetrated by the Muslims, and was a direct conse- 
quence of the great and bloody outbreak, which occurred in that year, between the 
Druses and Marorhtes of the Lebanon district. 




THE STRAIGHT WAV AT DAMASCUS 



Abd el-Kader, who then dwelt at es-Salehiye as a hostage of France, opened the 
gates of es-Salehiye to the Christians and saved what he could. 

After the massacre, a French army of 10.000 men was sent to Syria. The Turkish 
government made terms with them ; and it was thereafter covenanted that the Govern- 
or of Mt. Libanus should always be a Christian chosen by the powers. 

The population of Damascus is about 180.000, of which 20,000 are Christians. 
8000 Jews, the rest Muslims. The city is divided into three quarters — viz. Muslim. 
Christian, and Jew. of which the Muslim quarter is naturally by far the most extensive. 
The Christian quarter lies on the north side of the eastern end of the Derb el-Mustakim, 
or " Street which is called Straight" (Acts ix. rt); and the Jewish quarter is on the 
southern side of the same. The rest of the city is Muslim. 



560 



Damascus 



The Straight Street is still a great feature in Damascus, extending as it does in a 
direct line from east to west almost the entire length of the city. In the Jewish 
quarter are the Armenian Convent, the Greek Catholic Church, and the Syrian Church; 
whilst in the Christian quarter stand the British Syrian Schools, the Mission Home of 
the Society for the Conversion of the Jews, the Lazarist and Latin Convents, the Greek 
Church, and the so-called House of Ananias, which is merely an old cave, fitted up like 
a chapel. It is needless to say that there is absolutely no foundation for the tradition 
of this site. 

The Christian and Jewish quarters are very dirty. The dogs of Damascus, like 




BAZAAR OF DAMASCUS 



those of other Oriental towns, though outcast and unowned, are exceedingly useful 
in discharging the functions of scavengers for the city. 

Most of the streets of Damascus are narrow, dark, and very picturesque. The 
best streets are those in which are situated the Serai and the British Consulate ; and the 
covered way of the Straight Street is also very fair. 

The Bazaars are a perfect labyrinth, or network, of lanes and alleys, connected by 
dark passages, so narrow at times that two people can with difficulty pass one another. 
Every street and bazaar has its fountains, more or less dirty or pure. The houses are 
most irregular, and from the outside present a very mean appearance. Once past 
the narrow entrance, however, one generally finds oneself in an inner court, paved with 
marble, adorned with fountains, flower and fruit trees, and presenting to almost every 



Damascus 



561 



sense a fascinating allurement of Oriental delight. There is, in many of the private 
houses of the Damascenes, a wealth of ornament and beauty — gold and silver, sandal- 
wood and ebony, mother-of-pearl and mosaic — of which the casual passer-by in the 
streets has little or no conception. 

We may briefly enumerate the principal bazaars, commencing with the Saddle 
Market which branches off to the left from the main street, just opposite the Military 
Serai. In this main street, the Coppersmiths and Swordmakers ply their craft: and 
a little above the serai on the right-hand side is the Old-clothes Bazaar, which is worthy 
of a short visit, from the quaintly original mode of auction which is briskly carried on 




INTERIOR OF HOUSE AT DAMASCUS 



here. Opposite this is the entrance to the Greek Bazaar, where many Oriental wares 
of the best kind may be purchased. Besides these are the booksellers', mercers', 
tailors', shoemakers', and silversmiths' bazaars, the tobacco, spice, and pipe markets, 
and many others, in which may be purchased an infinite variety of articles — Indian 
muslins, Manchester prints, Persian carpets, Lyons silks, Birmingham guns, Sheffield 
knives, Damascus swords, Cashmere shawls, Turkish sweetmeats, Mocha coffee, Leb- 
anon kerchiefs, and man}- other articles. 

The Citadel, which stands at the back of the bazaars, is a large quadrangular build- 
ing, 280 yards long and 200 yards broad, encompassed by a deep moat, which can be 
filled from the river. The foundations are at least as old as the Roman period; but the 
main portion of the fortress was constructed by the Sultan el-Melek el-Ashraf in 12 19. 



562 



Damascus 



The Great Mosque is now in course of rebuilding after the disastrous fire of 1893, 
when is was seriously damaged, and much that was of archaeological and historical 
interest was entirely destroyed. Notwithstanding its sadly mutilated condition, the old 
remaining portions of the Mosque are still very beautiful and well worth a careful visit. 

Its history briefly is as follows: The oldest or Pagan parts of it date probably 
from a period of about a century before our era, and may possibly be ascribed to 
Antiochus Cyzicenus, who, in 114 B. C, divided the kingdom of Syria with his brother 
Antiochus Grypus and selected Damascus as his capital. In 65 B. C. the Roman rule 
came in, but it was not before the time of Trajan (A. D. 98-118) that the Romans made 




COURT OF GREAT MOSQUE AT DAMASCUS 



Damascus a provincial city, and Apollodorus, the great architect, probably erected 
the famous archway of Bab el-Berid. To the Antonines (A. D. 138-80) we are 
indebted for the beautiful Syrian temples of Baalbek, Palmyra, Gerasa, etc., and in 
all probability they built the Temple at Damascus, of which the entrance front with 
its great doorway forms a portion of the south wall of the Mosque itself. Some years 
after the accession of Constantine, and when Christianity became in A. D. 323 the 
established religion, Damascus was constituted an episcopal centre with fifteen dioceses. 
The temple is said to have been converted into a church and dedicated to St. John the 
Baptist by Theodosius in A. D. 379. In A. D. 634, when the city was taken by the 
Muslims, the building was sufficiently large to be divided into two, the Muslims taking 
the eastern half and the Christians only retaining the western, both entering, however, 



Damascus 



563 



by 'the same doorway. In A.D. 705 the Khalif el-Walid seized the whole church, 
pulled it down, and erected a mosque upon the site, retaining, however, portions of 
the outer walls. He also built a great court on the north side enclosed by lofty arcades, 
and the north minaret called the Madinet el-Arus. In A. D. 1069 a fire destroyed 
portions of it, but it was subsequently restored. In A. D. 1400 Tamerlane set it on 
fire and it was again restored. 




GRAND COLONNADE OF MOSQUE AT DAMASCUS 



The plan of the Mosque itself is quite simple. It runs nearly due east and west, 
and is built in between two substructures which earn." the minarets at the south-east 
and south-west corners respectively. It measures internally about 455 feet by 
123 feet. Exactly in the centre is an immense transept running north and south, 
with a dome over the crossing; this was so badly injured by the fire that it has been taken 
down. Many of the windows known as "karamiyas" or "shemsiyas," which were 
composed of stucco in pierced arabesque designs filled in with colored glass, were des- 
troyed at the same time. 



564 



Damascus 



An arcade originally ran round three sides of the great courtyard; the portion on 
the south-west was the only one left standing after the fire. 

This courtyard is of the same length as the Mosque — 190 feet deep from the tran- 
sept wall to the rear wall of the arcade at the east end, and 180 feet at the west end. 
At the west end of the court is the Kubbet el-Kuttub or Dome of the Treasury, 
a structure built upon eight columns which are partially buried, as the present pave- 
ment is raised some 3 feet 6 inches above the old Roman platform. In the centre of 
the Court is the Kubbet el-Othman or Kubbet en-Naufara, i.e. the Dome of the 
Fountain, which is an exquisite piece of workmanship. Here the Muslims perform 




THE VALLEY OF THE BARRADA NEAR DAMASCUS 



their ablutions before going into the Mosque to pray. At the east end is the Kub- 
bet es-Saad or Dome of the Hours, said to be used for astronomical purposes 

Between the third and fourth columns of the south aisle to the east of the great 
dome is a gilded wooden dome-covered erection said to be the Tomb of John the 
the Baptist. It has been rebuilt at least three times. 

The floor of the Mosque was laid down in marble-like limestone, known as "Syrian 
marble," and is covered with beautiful Eastern rugs of great value. Even now the 
visitor will come across patches of beautiful tesselated pavement, giving a faint idea 
of the richness of the old work. Still clinging to the walls may also be seen fragments 
of ancient mosaic work, and the faded gilding on the Corinthian capitals still testifies 
to the former magnificence of the Mosque. 



Damascus 



565 



Mukaddasi. writing in A. D. 985, says that it was "the fairest of any that the 
Muslims now hold, and nowhere is there collected greater magnificence. The inner 
walls of the Mosque for twice the height of a man are faced with variegated marbles 
and above this, even to the very ceiling, are mosaics of various colors and in gold. 
And rare are the trees and few are the well-known towns that will not be found figured 
on these walls. It is said that the Khalif el-Walid brought skilled workmen from 
Persia, India, Western Africa and Byzantium, spending thereon the whole revenue 




MUSLIM CEMETERY AT DAMASCUS 



of Syria for seven years, as well as eighteen shiploads of gold and silver, which came 
from Cyprus." 

One hundred and eighty-six feet to the west of the triple archway known as the 
Bab el-Berid are the remains of an immense gateway which is now known to have 
been the inner front of the propylon of the peribolos, or enclosure of the ancient tem- 
ple. The purity of the carvings in the Corinthian capitals, on the architrave and in 
the frieze, would suggest the possibility of its being the work of Apollodorus, were it 
not for the arch which spans the central opening, which is of peculiar construction, 
the earliest example of which, hitherto known, being at Spalato, and dating from 
A. D. 284. Theodosius, when he converted the temple into a Christian church, carved 
on the central fascia of this doorway the famous Greek inscription: "Thy kingdom, 
O Christ, is an everlasting kingdom, and Thy dominion endureth throughout all gen- 
erations." Notwithstanding that the building has been a Muhammadan building 



566 



Damascus 



for twelve centuries, this inscription still exists. It can be seen on payment of half a 
midjidie, from the roof of the silversmiths' bazaar. 

The Mosque has three minarets. Madinet el-Arus ("The Minaret of the 
Bride ") stands near the centre of the northern side of the court. It is the most ancient, 
having been erected by the Khalif el-Walid. Madinet Isa ("the Minaret of Jesus") 
is at the south-eastern angle. It is 250 feet high. A Muslim tradition affirms that 
Jesus, when He comes to judge the world, will first descend on this minaret; and then, 
entering the Mosque, will call before him men of every sect. Madinet el-Ghurbiyeh 




THE BARADA (PHARPAR) AT DAMASCUS 



("the Western Minaret") is the most beautiful. An older one occupied its place, 
but was burned in A. D. 803. 

There is a beautiful view from the top of this minaret. 

There is here also the tomb of Salah ed-Din. The body of the great Saracen was 
first buried within the castle, but it was afterwards removed to the spot now marked 
by a fine mausoleum. It is to the north of the great mosque and next to the Omariyeh. 
It is remarkable for some fine faience work. 

It is not an uncommon sight at Damascus to see in the streets a completely nude 
Dervish. 

We visited a new French hospital just completed; it is the work of the Sisters of 
Charity. 

May 10th. — Arose at 6 a. m.; Mass at Jesuit Church, supposed house of John 
Damascene. 



Baalbek 



567 



We departed at 8.30 a. m. by train for Baalbek. The railroad follows the wady 
of the Barada, the ancient Abana. The wady is very beautiful. It is such a relief 
to see trees and hear the sound of running water, after the long journey through the 
waterless Hauran. On the way one passes 'Ain Fidjeh, a mad rushing mountain tor- 
rent which plunges into the Barada. 

We ate dinner at Revak at the Buffet de la gare; departed at 1 p. m., and ar- 
rived at Baalbek at 2 p. m. 

Baalbek is the chief town of a district which bears its name, under the Wilayet 
of Damascus. It is situated 3860 feet above the level of the sea, and is 31 miles from 




AIN FIDJEH 



Damascus, 32 miles from Tripoli, and 109 miles from Palmyra. Its population is at 
present about 5000, in the following proportions: 2500 Metawileh, 1200 Greek Cath- 
olics, 1 100 Muslims. 100 Maronites, and ico Orthodox Greeks. The Greek Catholics 
have a bishop, and the Maronites an archbishop of Baalbek, but the latter resides upon 
Mount Lebanon. There are three Christian churches, one for each of the three creeds ; 
and there are six schools, with 15 teachers and 300 pupils. 

The etymology of Baalbek has puzzled many. There is no doubt that the first 
syllable indicated Baal, identified with the sun-god. The syllable '-bek" seems to have 
been derived from the Phoenician beka, meaning town; hence the name signifies 
the town of Baal. The Greek name Heliopolis is a precise translation of the Phoe- 
nician name. 



568 



Baalbek 



The name Heliopolis, which is the literal translation of Baalbek, was given by 
the Seleueides and adopted by the Romans, but the natives have always preserved the 
Semitic name which they derived under the domination of the Arabs. 

The most extravagant legends exist concerning the foundation of Baalbek. Some 
Arabs say it was built by Cain; others say it was built by Nimrod; still others that it 
was built by the gods. 

Be this as it may, whether the Egyptians anticipated or assisted them or not, 
it is certain that the Phoenicians erected here a magnificent temple of Baal. The co- 
lossal platform of the temple and the bevelled masonry under the great peristyle point 




GENERAL VIEW OF BAALBEK 



distinctly to Phoenician handiwork. Like so many other ancient sanctuaries in Syria, 
Baalbek was subsequently adopted, redecorated, and in a great measure reconstructed 
by the Grasco-Romans of the early centuries of our era. Julius Csesar made Heliop- 
olis a Roman colony; and Antoninus Pius, towards the close of the second century, 
built "a great temple to Jupiter, which was one of the wonders of the world" (John 
Malala of Antioch). This is, of course, the present Temple of Jupiter. The still 
more gigantic and magnificent Temple of the Sun, which was never completed, appears 
to belong to the same period of architecture ; and in all probability the enormous stones 
which were used for the columns, the architraves, and the other portions of these 
beautiful temples, were obtained by the Gra>co-Romans from the ruins of the more 



Baalbek 



.569 



ancient Egyptian and Phoenician structures, upon the foundations of which the 
present ruins stand. 

One of the coins of the time of Septimius Severus, only 32 years after the reign 
of Antoninus, has on the reverse the figure of a temple with a portico of ten columns, 
and another has a temple with many columns in a peristyle. The superscription upon 
them 'runs thus: •"Colonia Heliopolis Jovi Optimo Maximo Heliopolitano," and they 




M JUPITER'S TEMPLE AT BAALBEK 



probablv represent the two existing temples. The inscriptions still to be seen on the 
pedestals of the two outside columns in the grand portico confirm the evidence of the 
coins, and appear to fix the date of the erection of the temples in the reign of Antoninus 
Pius. About the same time also was erected the beautiful little circular temple which 
was dedicated to Venus. The worship of this goddess under the name of (' ' Pleasure ") 
was, according to Eusebius, carried on here, witlrall the accompaniments of licentious- 
ness and vice. The inhabitants of Heliopolis were notorious for their idolatrous rites, 



570 



Baalbek 



and the historian Menteon states that at their great festivals three negroes were in- 
variably sacrificed to the gods. The Great Temple contained a golden statue of Jup- 
iter, which on festal days was carried about the city in procession; those who were ap- 
pointed to be its bearers having previously been prepared for the sacred duty by shav- 
ing the head and making vows of chastity (Macrobius). The oracles at Heliopolis 
were highly renowned, and Trajan consulted them before commencing his second expe- 
dition against the Parthians. The place and manner of delivering these oracles will 
be more fully described below. In 297, during the reign of Diocletian, several Chris- 




TEMPLE OF JUPITER AT BAALBEK 

tians were here tortured and put to death, amongst them being a young actor named 
Gelasinus. 

The Emperor Constantine suppressed all the idolatrous worship, and erected a 
basilica in the midst of the precincts of the Great Temple, the remains of which are 
still existing. For a short while under Julian the Apostate (361^363), the heathen 
rites and persecutions revived; but they were finally abolished by Theodosius 
the Great, who ascended the throne in 379. The "Paschal Chronicle" says that, 
while Constantine contented himself with merely closing the Greek temples, Theo- 
dosius completely destroyed them, and converted the temple of Balanios, the Tri- 
lithon, into a Christian church. Balanios is a corruption for "Baal Helios" ("the 
Temple of the Sun"), and its title Trilithon was doubtless derived from the three 
colossal stones at its western foundation. 



Baalbek 



571 



Heliopolis remained in the hands of the Christians until the year 634, when it 
was captured by the Muslims under Abu-Obeida el-Jarrah. They abolished the Greek 
name of the city and restored its ancient title of Baalbek and they also converted the 
two great temples into a formidable fortress. In 11 58 Baalbek was visited by a 
terrible earthquake, which overthrew many houses and destroyed the ramparts, 
the fortress, and a great portion of the temples. The Crusaders under Raymond, 
Count of Tripoli, attacked Baalbek, but were defeated by Shems Eddin ("the Sun of 
Religion"), a famous general under Saladin. Baldwin IV. made a second expedition 




FRIEZE OF JUPITER'S TEMPLE AT BAALBEK 



against the city, and succeeded in carving off a considerable booty. In 1 5 16 Syria be- 
came subject to Selim I., and from that period Baalbek has belonged to the Ottoman 
Empire. The city, during the last three centuries, has been the scene of many feuds 
and contests between the Harfush emirs, belonging to the Metawileh, the Druses, 
and the Muslims. In 1759 Baalbek was again visited by a destructive earthquake, 
which overthrew many of the magnificent columns of its temples, and completed the 
devastation which had been wrought by so many centuries of warfare and siege. 
Indeed, the only wonder is that, after all the disasters which it has sustained, 
Baalbek is able at the present day to exhibit such magnificent remains of its pristine 
glory. 



572 



Baalbek 



From what has been said, and from the inscriptions found by the Germans in their 
excavations, it is believed that Septimius Severus and his son played the most important 
part in the accomplishment of the construction of the temples and of the courts in 
front of them. 

The desire to expiate the murder of his brother Geta, together with the deep 
affection that he entertained for the temple of Heliopolis, where he formerly officiated 




ROMAN STATUE FOUND AT BAALBEK 



as high priest, urged the emperor Caracalla to undertake the immense works which 
endowed the temple of the Sun with an entrance, the most splendid of Grasco-Roman 
antiquity. A twofold inscription bears witness to this. On two of the double bases 
of the columns which adorn the portico is the following inscription: 

M[agnis] Diis Heliopol[itanis], pro sal[ute] (et) victoriis d[omini] nostri Antonini 
Pii Fel[icis] Aug[usti] et Julia Aug[ustae], matris d[omini] njostri] castr[orum] Senat[us] 
p'atr[iae], Aur[elius] Ant[onius] Longinus speculator] leg[ionis] I. [Antkminianae, capita 
columnarum dua aerea auro inluminata sua pecunia ex voto L[ibens] A[nimo] S[olvit]. 



Baalbek 



573 



"To the great gods of Heliopolis, for the safety and the victories of our lord 
Antoninus Pius, the happy, the august, and of Julia Augusta mother of our lord, 
(mother) of the camps, (mother) of the senate, (mother) of the country (i): Aurelius 
Antonius Longinus, leader of the scouts of the first Antonian legion, has gilded, 
voluntarily and at his own expense, in consequence of a vow, the two bronze capitals 
of the columns." 

One must not confound Julius Antonius Pius, the adopted son of Adrian with 
Antoninus Pius which is the name of Caracalla, mentioned here with his mother, Julia 
Domna. The confusion between these two imperial names has caused an error com- 




CYCLOPEAN WALL ATJBAALBEK 

mittedby many writers, who make his inscription date back to Antoninus the first. 

The successors of Caracalla completed and profusely adorned the vestibules which 
the brevity of his reign did not allow him to finish. The construction of the superb 
staircase which terminated at the propylaea and which he had engraved on one of his 
medals is attributed to the emperor Philip the Arabian (244-249). 

All the inscriptions disclosed by the Germans in their excavations begin with the 
expression of presentation to the god of Baalbek, the Great Jupiter-Sun, which is this: 

I. O. M. H. 

The same expression is inscribed on the coins of Septimius Severus and those of his 
son Caracalla; thus removing all doubt, and confirming that the great temple was 
consecrated to Jupiter Heliopolitan. 



574 



Baalbek 



We are indebted to the German Archaeological Society for the exploration of Baalbek. 
In studying the structure of these temples this fact is revealed, viz., that, in 
order not to build them on a level with the ground, the ancients were obliged to make 
a kind of artificial hill by establishing subterranean passages of a height of twenty-three 
feet, upon which was erected the actual acropolis. 

Below the propylsea and the hexagonal court, some subterranean chambers com- 
pletely blocked up are still to be seen. 

But below the great court are built two adjacent subterranean passages connected 
with each other on the east, north, and south by enormous vaulted stones. The 
external passage is divided throughout into chambers with their doors opening 
exteriorly. Upon these chambers stand the exedras of the great court above, while 
upon the interior vault are based the columns of the gallery, which run in front 
of the exedrae. The southern of these passages, serves as entrance to the ruins. Its 

length from east to west is four hundred feet, 
and its breadth sixteen feet five inches. Fifty 
feet to the right of this, another subterranean 
passage not less immense leads out, at right 
angles to a third one, which is itself parallel 
to the first, which it resembles in style and 
.length. The stones of these passages, as in 
the temples must first have been placed in posi- 
tion and afterwards cut to the required size ; as 
a proof of this, some are finished at one end 
and left uncompleted at the other. 

Beginning at the east end we come first 
of all to the Portico which is at present about 
nineteen feet above the level of the adjoining 
orchard, and which was originally the entrance 
to the Temple of the Sun. A broad flight of 
steps thirty-three feet in height originally led 
up to the portico, the stylobate of which had 
the usual three steps. This portico was one 
hundred and fifty feet long not counting 'the 
wings, and thirty-six feet deep. 
We now walk around the ruins proceeding to the left. The Arabic constructions 
merit no observation. 

We next arrive in front of the Temple of Jupiter and then pass around to the 
colonnade of the Temple of Jupiter, built on foundations of enormous size. We cross 
some gardens, and reach the western end of the Acropolis. 

We next come to the southern wall of the Temple of the sun which is here ten feet 
thick, and is composed of nine stones about thirty feet long and thirteen feet high. 
In the west wall are three stones measuring respectively sixty-four feet, sixty-three and 
one-half feet, and sixty-two feet in length. They are fourteen feet broad by eleven 
feet thick. They are laid in the wall twenty feet from the base. The temple is some- 
times called the Trilithon from these blocks. It is quite certain that this masonry is 
Roman ; but how it was constructed is yet a mystery. It is more wonderful to see the 
enormous architraves and friezes in situ on the tops of columns nearly seventy feet in 
height; and the stones are laid with a precision unparalleled. 




DETAIL OF FRIEZE — BAALBEK 



Baalbek 



575 



The Temple of the sun, the grandest and most celebrated in the annals of antiquity, 
stood upon the site of the great Phoenician Temple of Baal; and it is this which has 
given its name to Baalbek or Heliopolis. The Grseco-Roman structure was, if ever 
finished, merely a hypaethral shell of columns, supporting a magnificent entablature. 
No signs of any cella. or interior shrine, are to be found, nor is there any trace of ts 
foundations. It is perhaps most probable that a cella was intended, but that the build- 




COLUMXS OF TEMPLE OF SUN AT BAALBEK 



ing was never actually completed. But , however this may be, we can scarcely imagine 
anyt hin g more beautiful than the rectangular colonnade of fifty-four columns — nine- 
teen on each side north and south, and ten on each side east and west — with its portico, 
must have been when it stood erect and perfect. The Six enormous Columns 
which still remain upright claim the first and principal attention of every stranger's 
eye. They are sixty-seven feet high, including base and capital; and over this the 
entablature rises to the height of another fourteen feet. The diameter of the columns 
at the base is seven feet three inches, and at the top six feet six inches ; the shafts are 



576 



Baalbek 



composed of three blocks, the base of one, the capital of one, and the entablature reach- 
ing from column to column is of one solid stone. The shaft blocks were clamped by 
iron, two clamps being inserted in each, the one round and the other square. The style 
is Corinthian, and the capitals are designed and executed with great skill. The columns 
of this great peristyle stood on a stylobate of three steps raised on a podium, or plat- 
form, about twenty-one feet above the level of the great Court, entrance to the Temple 
being obtained by a flight of steps. 

To the north of the Acropolis is another wall of colossal stones similar in position, 
height, and size to the six great stones on the west side, which lie under the three 
Cyclopean blocks. A vacant space occurs between this probably Phcenican wall and 
the foundations of the Graeco-Roman structure. Nineteen pedestals of the north 
colonnade can be counted in the midst of tho Arab structure. A built-up doorway, 
with a handsome lintel, stands in the lower courses of the Roman wall. To the west 
of the colossal wall is the northwest angle of the Great Court, beyond which is the 

north wall of the same. Turning the northeast 
corner, we reach the point from which we 
started, and complete our survey of the 
exterior. 

The entrance where the fee is paid, is 
effected through the vaults, the whole area, as 
we have indicated, being on a much higher level 
than the surrounding country. The walls of 
these vaults are constructed of massive blocks 
of stone, evidently of an older period than the 
arched roof above. The latter is Graeco- 
Roman, the former perhaps Phoenician. 

On leaving the passage we find ourselves at 
once in the Great Court and it is here that the 
Germans, who obtained permission to start the 
excavations in 1898, have made their chief dis- 
coveries. The most important of these are un- 
questionably the traces of the bases of the col- 
umns of a lofty peristyle, resting on a stylobate 
of three steps, which ran round the north, south, 
and east sides of the Court, thus bringing into 
communication the great rectangular halls and exedrae which form the outer circuit of 
this portion of the building. In the centre of the Court they found in good preservation 
the remains of a great altar measuring thirty feet by thirty-five feet, with a flight of 
steps leading up to it on the east side. The altar is built of massive blocks of stone 
apparently brought from the same quarry as that which pro\dded the trilithon and 
other colossal blocks of the west and north sides of the substructure of the Great 
Temple, and, according to the Germans, the foundations were carried down to the rock. 
In the court, on either side, are two rectangular basins of unequal size. These 
were without the church. They were surrounded by low walls about three and one- 
half feet high; three sides of the largest tank have been preserved, and are carved with 
festoons of flowers, tritons, cupids, bull's-heads, and groups of figures. An arched 
passage ran round the southern tank and had chambers leading off from it. 




Baalbek 



577 



The "Basilica of Constantine." — Traces of the walls of a Christian Basilica have 
long been known, but its exact plan has now been determined by the Germans. Only 
the lower portions of the walls have been found, but they show it to have been of the 
type of basilica of which there are examples in Syria at Kalb Louzy and Ruweihah 
(see plan of Church of Ruweihah, in Fergusson's "Architecture"), with nave 
and aisles separated one from the other by three great arches carried on piers. On the 
site of the flight of steps which originally led to the Great Temple the Christians built, 
at the west end of the church, the principal apse flanked by two smaller apses in 
the axes of the aisles. The foundations of a second apse at the east end with the 




TEMPLE OF JUPITER 



polygonal walls which form the characteristic feature of the Byzantine church, were 
also found, but this apse seems to have formed a portion of a subsequent addition, 
and traces of the flight of steps which led up to the original eastern door have been 
found. As is usual in these Syrian churches, there are three doorways in the north 
and south walls of the aisles. 

The beautiful Temple of Jupiter stands on a platform to the south of the Temple 
of the Sun and on a lower level. It is one of the best preserved monuments of ancient 
Syrian art. Its dimensions are two hundred and twenty-seven feet by one hundred 
and seventeen feet. It faces the east, and had a handsome portico in front, which, like 
the portico of the larger temple, was originally reached by a stone staircase, no vestiges 
of which, however, remain. The peristyle was composed of forty-two columns, fifteen 



578 



Baalbek 



(counting the angle columns again) on the north and south sides, and eight on the east 
and west. The Pronaos, or portico, had an inner row of six fluted columns ; and, farther 
west of these again , two others of the same kind, opposite the ends of the ' ' Antae. ' ' The 
height of the columns, including the base and capital, is sixty-five feet, and their diam- 
eter at the base six feet three inches, and at the top five feet eight inches. Over the peri- 
style was a richly ornamented entablature, surmounted by a magnificent cornice, 
altogether measuring twelve feet in height. The distance between the columns and the 
cella is ten feet. The ceiling formed by the slabs was elaborately decorated. It was 
divided into spaces, alternately hexagonal and diamond shaped. In the middle of 
each was a large figure representing a god or goddess, and all around were smaller busts 
with traceries of floral and folial work. The whole were exquisitely carved in alto- 
rilievo upon the stones. Unfortunately this beautiful peristyle has been grievously 
damaged and effaced, most of the columns having fallen, and the sculptured carving 
of the ceiling slabs so much injured as to be scarcely distinguishable. The northern 
facade is in the best state of preservation; for, of its fifteen columns, nine still remain 
in situ. At the western end there are but three, and on the south only four. One 
shaft has fallen against the southern wall, displacing several stones of the cella, 
and yet itself remaining unbroken, so strongly have its three huge pieces been fastened 

together by iron clamps. - All along the southern 
terrace enormous blocks of stones and columns lie 
scattered about in hopeless confusion. Of the 
eight fluted columns which formed the interior of 
the eastern portico, only two remain, those 
which stood on the south side. These two 
columns, together with three unfluted columns 
on the south and the pilaster of the cella, sup- 
port an embattled wall, which is of Saracenic 
construction. A portion of a fluted column still 
detail of ceiling-jupiter's temple remams in Sltu on the norther n side of the pronaos. 

The Great Doorway of the temple, in face of which we now stand, was twenty-one 
feet wide and forty-two feet high; but fallen stones and masses of debris conceal from 
view its greater part. Around it runs a delicately carved border four feet wide, rep- 
resenting fruit, flowers, and vine-leaves. The lintel contains, in addition, little figures 
in different attitudes, with bunches of grapes in their hands, but this work is much 
effaced by time. Above this is a frieze, better preserved, consisting of scroll-work 
and acanthus-leaves; and the whole is finished by a rich cornice. The lintel is com- 
posed of three large blocks of stone, the centre or keystone of which, owing to the earth- 
quake of 1859, began to sink, and this became so dangerous that about 1876 it was 
found necessary to support it by a pier of masonry to prevent the entire collapse of the 
portal. Now, however, the stone has been raised and the pier removed, so that the 
sculpture on the lower face can be seen. This is the celebrated figure of the eagle, with 
a caduceus in his talons, and long twisted garlands in his beak. The ends of the gar- 
lands were supported by genii, one of which was represented on each side-block. That 
to the south is now quite destroyed; but that to the north remains in good preservation. 
Two stair cases on either side of the central doorway lead to the roof. 

The interior of the temple is one hundred and twenty-five and one-half feet in 
length, and its breadth sixty-eight feet. At the farther, or western end, the floor is 
raised about ten feet above the floor of the cella, and is subdivided into a sanctuary in 




Baalbek 



579 



the centre, where was probably the statute of the god, and two side rooms. A large flight 
of steps led up to the sanctuary from the cella. 

This sanctuary was the special shrine of Baalbek, and here the people consulted 
the oracles, and received their response. A large statue of Jupiter stood in the centre 
of the western wall. It was a hollow figure. The priests entered this statue by a 
subterranean passage beneath the sanctuary. The entrance to this passage was 




DETAIL OF DOOR OF JUPITER'S TEMPLE AT BAALBEK 



effected by a secret doorway in a chamber in the southern wall which could be opened 
or closed at will. By this means the priests were able to obtain access to the interior 
of the statue without any of the worshipers having their suspicions aroused. The 
entrance and staircase to this subterranean passage are still to be seen at the present 
day. Theodosius is said to have converted this temple into a Christian church, and 
there is a Greek cross carved on a pedestal in the southern wall. By the staircase on 
the north of the entrance we can climb up to the summit, whence we obtain a fine view 
of the interior of the temple. 



580 



Baalbek 



We now leave the precincts of the Great Temples by the substructural passage 
through which we entered, and about six hundred and sixty feet to the southeast we 
come to the Temple of Venus. This little circular sanctuary, though far inferior in 
size and grandeur to the magnificent temples which we have already described, is never- 
theless of wondrous beauty, and would be considered a gem anywhere else than at 
Baalbek. Its plan is of unusual form, and the only example of its kind known. The 
cella is a circle of thirty-eight feet in diameter, in front of which is a tetrastyle portico 
with very wide inter-columniation to the two centre columns, in order to give free 
access to the cella. Behind the two angle columns are two others of the same dimen- 




INTERIOR OF JUPITER'S TEMPLE AT BAALBEK 



sions, and behind the two centre columns two three-quarters-detached columns attached 
to the cella wall. Behind and round the cella are four other columns standing two feet 
from the cella wall. In order to mask, or render harmonious, the junction of the rect- 
angular portico with the circular cella, the entablature which crowns both sweeps back 
on plan forming five segments or circles. The four detached columns of the cella ex- 
terior have responds in the cella wall, the spaces between being decorated with niches 
sunk in the wall, in which originally there were statues, the pedestals of which alone 
remain. The doorway of the sanctuary is situated on the northwestern side, and in 
order to leave room for it, one column has been omitted from the peristyle, which, if 
complete, would have been heptagonal. The outside wall of the cella is ornamented 
with pilasters and niches, above which runs a handsome frieze. The doorway con- 



Baalbek 



581 



sisted of three large blocks of stone, but the upper part has now fallen in. It was 
twenty feet high and eleven and one-half feet wide. The interior was originally cov- 
ered by a dome roof, which has disappeared, and the walls are greatly shattered. In 
the middle was formerly a statue of Venus. Along the base of the wall runs a frieze, 
and the wall itself is encompassed by two tiers of small columns, the lower Ionic sup- 
porting a plain cornice, and the upper Corinthian with tabernacles over them. In the 
niches were formerly statutes of nymphs of Venus. This sanctuary was probably 
devoted in heathen times to the licentious rites of the worship of Venus, but it was after- 
wards converted into a Christian church. Till within the last century it was so used 
by the Greeks, but it is now entirely abandoned. The church was dedicated to St. 




DETAIL OF FRIEZE OF JUPITER'S TEMPLE AT BAALBEK 



Barbara, and the building is known even now by the natives under this name. On the 
eastern side of the interior wall is seen a fresco, representing a Greek cross inside a 
circle. 

On the hillside to the northwest of the ruins are many rock-tombs and ancient 
sepulchres, one of which contains the name of "Zenodorus, son of Lysanias," the latter 
probably being the tetrarch of Abilene mentioned in St. Luke hi. i. 

The massiveness of these great ruins cannot be described; they must be seen. All 
the masonry is massive ; a portion of an architrave recently discovered in its mutilated 
form is nineteen feet four inches long ; four feet eight inches wide ; and four feet two 
inches thick. I measured an acanthus leaf of one of the capitals; it is two feet four 
inches long. 



582 



Baalbek 



One of the columns on the north side leans, revealing the great iron pivot by which 
it was attached to the base. In the great temple of Jupiter the Arabs have cut large 
holes into the bases to come at this iron. In all these massive ruins there is a marvel- 
ous beauty of proportion and symmetry. 

In the northern pillar at the great portal of the Temple of the Sun, is a winding 
staircase leading to the top of the wall. From the top the view is wonderful. 

At the distance of about half a mile south of the great ruins of Baalbek are the 
quarries whence were hewn the mighty stones of the Temples. One block remains 
there, hewn but not detached from the bed rock. It is seventy feet long; fourteen 




THE GREAT STONE IN THE QUARRY AT BAALBEK 



feet in breadth, and a little over fourteen feet in height. It contains about 14,500 
cubic feet, and is estimated to weigh 1,470 tons. 

May 1 ith. — Mass in church at Baalbek; morning devoted to visiting ruins; returned 
to Damascus by rail. 

In the afternoon we ascended the heights of Salahiye and witnessed the sunset. 
The whole level plain is one great sea of green trees, save where the city of Damascus 
and its suburb the Meidan cut a spoon-shaped section out of the mass of green. 

May 12th. — Mass at Franciscan Church at 5:30 a. m. ; depart at 8:25 a. m. south- 
west through great plain. At 11:45 a - m - we halted for dinner at Artuz on the banks 
of the Nahr Barbar the ancient Pharpar. 



SUBEIBEH 



583 



We departed at 1:45 p. m. At 2:45 p. m. the plain gave place to hills and wadys. 
The river Arni flows through the region. There are green fields and forests. We 
entered camp at Kefr Hauwar at the foot of the southeastern outposts of Mt. Hermon 
at 5:05 p. m. The night was beautiful, cooled by the breezes from Hermon. 

May 13th. — Arose at 4:30; Mass in tent. We departed at 6:25 a.m. riding west- 
ward along the slope of the foot of the mountains of which Hermon is the highest 
peak. 

The land is well watered, and fertile. There are villages scattered along the slope 
of the mountains. The snow line of Hermon rises daily; in July the snow will have 
disappeared. 

We halted for dinner at 1:05 p. m. ; departed at 4:25 p. m. We soon reached the 
steep ascent of that outpost of Mt. Hermon called Subeibeh. It is a quarter of an 
hour's ride above Banias, the ancient Caesarea Philippi. We left our horses at the base 
of the steepest part of the ascent, and climbed up to the ruined citadel Kula'at es- 
Subeibeh. It is one of the finest and best preserved in Syria on a rocky crest, fifteen 
hundred feet above Banias. 

As at Kula'at esh-Shukif and 
Tibnin, the castle has been erected 
in a form to suit the ground on 
which it stands. It was long and 
narrow, and gradually sloping 
from east to west. At the east 
stood the citadel, a building of 
enormous strength, several rooms 
and vaults of which still remain 
perfect. At the western end were 
several smaller towers and bar- 
racks, with cisterns. In many re- 
spects, especially in the drafting of 
the stones and in the loopholed walls, this castle closely resembles the two mentioned 
above. The substructions are all of drafted blocks of stone, of splendid finish. The 
only entrance is by a steep, narrow path along the southern side of the castle, into a 
square tower which opens on to the rocky courtyard. To the east of the entrance is a 
building which, externally, is rich in ornament. There are decorated niches and arched 
loopholes. One large pillar supports the vaulting. 

On the northern side the wall has subsided over the precipice, a height of about 
six hundred and fifty feet, and the view from the gap is grand. A rock-hewn ditch 
separates the citadel from the rest of the fortress. The whole castle measures one thou- 
sand four hundred and fifty feet from east to west, with an average of three hundred 
and sixty feet from north to south. Its position is most commanding; and, indeed, 
it would appear to have been almost impregnable. Yet it shared the fate of most 
other Syrian fortresses, changing hands from time to time — now held by Christians, 
now by Muslims — until it was finally captured in 1 165 by Nur Eddin. In the seven- 
teenth century it was abandoned; and since then it has continued in its ruined and 
deserted condition. 

Here is the most probable location of the Transfiguration of Christ. It would be 
absurd to suppose that our Lord took the disciples up to the highest peak of Hermon 




584 



Tabor or Hermon 



nine thousand feet high ; but into one of the lower peaks it is highly probable that he 
took them, and Subeibeh answers every requirement. 

The tradition is old that assigns Mount Tabor as the mount of the Transfigura- 
tion. In his commentary on the eighty-ninth Psalm, Origen declares; "Tabor is a 
mountain of Galilee, where the Lord was worshipped." Cyril of Jerusalem, and St. 
Jerome also support this opinion. Tabor is held in veneration to-day by the Francis- 
can monks of the East as the site of the Transfiguration. They have a chapel on its 
summit, where pilgrims say Mass. There are also on its summit ruins of an ancient 
temple built here by St. Helena in 326. 




MT. HERMON 



Mount Tabor rises out of the great Plain of Esdraelon like a great solitary cone. 
Its altitude above the sea level of the Mediterranean is about two thousand feet. It is 
thirteen hundred feet higher than the Plain of Esdraelon. It is distant from Nazareth 
about three hours' ride on horseback. That the natural character of the mountain 
could fit the description of the event in the Gospels, no one can doubt. It can justly 
be called a high mountain, for it is the highest mountain of Lower Galilee. Neverthe- 
less, many modern writers reject the tradition which fixes this event on Tabor. Among 
these modern writers may be mentioned Patrizi, Schegg, Schanz, Fillion, Keil, Mansel, 
and Geike. These contend that from intrinsic reasons and historical reasons the event 
can not be placed on Tabor. The opponents of the tradition concerning Tabor assert 



Tabor or Hermon 



585 



that, even in the third century before Christ, there was a fortified village on the summit 
of Tabor, whereas the Gospel narrative plainly indicates that the Transfiguration took 
place in a desert region. This argument is poorly answered by saying that the village 
may have become a ruin. There is no historical proof that the village ceased to be 
inhabited; but on the contrary Josephus in Wars of the Jews, ii. xx. 6, declares that 
Mount Tabor was one of the important places which he fortified. The manner in which 
he includes Tabor with other villages clearly shows that the top of the mount itself 
was a village. Again in the Wars of the Jews, iv. L. 8, Josephus declares that on the 
top of Mount Tabor was a plateau having an area of twenty-six stadia completely sur- 




FORTRESS OF SUBEIBEH— PLACE OF TRANSFIGURATION 



rounded by a wall. He speaks in the same place of the dwellers of the top of the mount, 
declaring that they were dependent for their water supply on rainwater. He also asserts 
that after a successful attack by Placidus, the dwellers of Tabor surrendered to 
Placidus. The fact that Josephus here designates the inhabitants of Tabor as the 
emywpLoi is evidence that at his time there was a village on the summit of the mount. 

In our judgment the strongest argument against Tabor is drawn from the sub- 
sequent text of Mark x. 30-33; "And they went forth thence, and passed through 
Galilee . . . And they came to Capharnaum." It is rightly argued that the ex- 
pression, "they passed through Gali'ee" could not reasonably be employed to describe 
the short journey from Tabor to Capharnaum. The distance from Tabor to Caphar- 
naum is reckoned by Frere Lievin de Hamme as a journey of 8 hours on horseback. 



586 



Tabor or Hermon 



Again, the expression, "they went forth from thence, and passed through Galilee" 
clearly indicates that the site of the Transfiguration was not in Galilee. Now Tabor is 
in Galilee, close by Nazareth and Capharnaum. Moreover, the last event with which 
the Synoptists were occupied before the Transfiguration was near Caesarea Philippi. 
It would seem incongruous in them to pass to describe an event on Tabor in lower 
Galilee without some account of the journey down to Tabor from Caesarea Philippi. 

In our judgment the passage, "Tabor and Hermon re'oice in thy name," which 
occurs in Psalm lxxxix. 12, has no bearing on the present question. The two moun- 
tains are there spoken of solely on account of their great altitude. 




TABOR 



Moved by these considerations, we believe that the site of the Transfiguration can 
not be placed on Tabor. 

In seeking the site of the great event, we note that nothing is narrated by any 
Evangelist as having occurred between the confession of Peter near Caesarea Philippi 
and the Transfiguration. It is true that an interval of six days intervened between 
the two events, and in that time the Lord and his Apostles could have traveled far from 
Caesarea Philippi; but had they done so, it seems probable that at least the eye-witness 
Matthew would have told us of the journey. Moreover, the fact that the band had to 
"go out from thence" before "passing through Galilee," leads us to believe that the 
Transfiguration took place near Caesarea Philippi. 



CAESAREA PHILIPPI 



587 



We walked down the slope of the mountain to Banias, pondering in silence on 
the great event of the Transfiguration. 

Banias, or Caesarea Philippi, occupies one of the most picturesque positions 
in Syria. It is no doubt the site of a very ancient town, but we know nothing of its his- 
tory previous to its occupation by a Greek colony, who established here a shrine to the 
god Pan, and called the place Paneas. This shrine stood close to the great cavern 
called Ras en-Neb'a, or "the Fountain-head," from which gushes forth one source of 
the river Jordan, and which is situated in the side of a perpendicular cliff about one 
hundred feet high, on the south side of the west end of the ridge, on which stands the 




THE GREAT CAVE AT THE SOURCE OF THE JORDAN 



castle Subeibeh. The front of the precipice is partially rilled up with debris, 
and the roof of the cave has fallen in. In the face of the cliff are three niches, two of 
which have tablets with Greek inscriptions, which speak of the spot being consecrated 
by a "priest of Pan." 

Here Herod erected a temple in honor of Caesar Augustus, and changed the name 
of the place to Caesarea. Afterwards, when Philip became the tetrarch of this dis- 
trict (St. Luke iii. i), it received the fuller title of Caesarea Philippi, to distinguish it 
from the other Caesarea on the coast. This is probably the most northern point reached 
by our Lord in His travels ; and here it was that He gave the promise to Peter: "On this 
rock I will build my church." 



588 



Tell el-Kady 



The Jordan bursts forth from the rocks from twenty gushing springs three hundred 
feet west of the great wall of rock in which is the cave. The springs form a line about 
two hundred feet across, and they are so copious that the river is at once formed and 
rushes foaming over the rocks. We bathed in its cool waters. 

The Nahr Banias and the Nahr Leddan unite a few miles farther south forming 
the Jordan proper. 

May 14. — Mass in tent; depart at 9:45 a. m. At 10:45 a - m - we halted beneath the 
shade of a great oak tree at Tell el-Kady. 




TELL-EL-KADY— ANCIENT DAN 



The Arabic title Kady has precisely the same signification as the Hebrew Dan — 
i. e. "Judge" ; and there is no question about the identification of this site. Originally 
an agricultural colony of the Phoenicians, called Lesem, or Laish, it was captured by 
a band of six hundred Danites, and called by them Dan. It became afterwards a chief 
seat of Jeroboam's idolatry, where one of the golden calves was set up; and it was con- 
quered by -the Syrians with other towns. It is best known as the most Northern point 
of Palestine proper — the expression "from Dan to Beersheba" indicating the limits of 
the length of the country. 

We departed at 2:45 p. m. through a watery plain of thorny brushwood. At 3:30 
p. m. we descended a steep bank into the wady of the Hasbani, another affluent of the 



Abil — Huxix — Kades 



5S9 




THE BRIDGE OVER THE HASBAXI 



Jordan. We crossed on a dilapidated stone bridge of three arches. The way now 
gradually ascended until we reached Abil, the ancient Abel Beth-Maachah, at 4:40. 

This is the site of Abelmaachah , or Abel of Bethmaachah. where Sheba was be- 
sieged by Joab, and the city was 
saved by the wisdom of a woman 
(2 Sam. xx. 14—22). Abel-beth- 
maachah was one of the cities taken 
by Tiglath-pileser (2 Kings xv. 29), 
and is doubtless the same as Abel- 
maim captured by Benhadad (2 
Chron. xvi. 4). 

The village is Greek schis- 
matic. About a quarter of a mile 
west of the village is a muddy 
stream of water, the water supply 
of the village. About two hun- 
dred yards farther west of the 
village a copious spring of pure 
water bursts forth from the 
rocks; but the indolent ignorant natives use the muddy water of the stream. 

May 15th. — Arose at 5:00 a. m., Mass in tent; depart at 9:15 a. m. southward along 
foot of mountains. The plain here is not fertile. After half an hour we began to ascend 
by a zigzag path the mountain ridge on the west of the plain of Huleh. 

We reached Hunin at 10:30 a. m. Here are the remains of an old crusading castle. 
A large part of the north and west side is formed of the hewn bed-rock. It is evidently 
the site of an unidentified ancient city. It may have been the ancient Jauvah. 

We rode south over a very difficult way ; at noon we ascended the height on 
which Meis is situated. The village is of no importance. 

At 12:40 p.m. we rode down 
the steep difficult descent to a spring 
on the edge of the plain which we 
reached at 1 :oo p. m. We reached 
Kades at 1:30. It is situated on a 
tell at the southeastern border of 
the plain. About the identity of 
this important and interesting site 
there is, fortunately, no doubt what- 
ever. Kedesh-Xaphtali was, as its 
name implies, originally one of the 
"hohy places" of the Canaanites; 
and. when the Israelites took the 
land, it became one of the Cities of 
refuge (see Josh. xii. 2 2 , xx. 7) . Here 
was the birthplace of Barak, the 
son of Abinoam. and its proximity to Hazor makes his prominence in the great battle 
between the Israelites and Canaanites (Judges iv.) the more significant and intelligible. 
Xo doubt there had been a long-standing feud between the neighboring cities of Kedesh 
and Hazor; and Deborah summoned Barak to take command of the national forces, on 




ABIL 



590 



Kades 



account of the reputation he had already gained in local contests against Jabin. Kedesh 
was one of the cities captured and laid waste by Tiglath-pileser (2 Kings xv. 29). It is 
mentioned in the Lists of Thothmes III. under the name of Kedeshu; Josephus calls it 
the Upper Cadesh and also Cydida (Ant. v. 1, 18; ix. 11, 1). It was also known as 
Cydessa, and Eusebius and Jerome called it Cydissus. The principal objects of attraction 
are: (1) a large masonry Tomb, thirty-four feet square, with entrance on the southern side 
and made to contain eleven bodies. It was originally arched over, but the upper part 
is now destroyed. (2) A platform of Roman work, containing four Sarcophagi, two 




CEDARS OF LEBANON 



double and two single, and measuring twenty-nine feet by twenty and one-half. The 
sarcophagi are curious and interesting. (3) The Pagan Temple called el-'Amarah, and 
sometimes known as "The Temple of the Sun." The doorpost, still standing, is a mono- 
lith, fifteen feet high; the small doorways are beautifully ornamented: over the north 
door there is an eagle with outspread wings. 
There is here a fine spring of water. 

Some of the sarcophagi are double. I measured one monolithic sarcophagus. 
It is eight feet four inches long; five feet six inches wide; four feet thick. There is a 
rosette on one of the faces. The cover lies by its side, eight feet four inches long; six 
feet broad; two feet four inches thick. 



Capharnaum 



591 



The temple was seventy-two feet long; sixty feet wide. On each side of the orna- 
mented small doors at each side of the main portal in the east front of the temple are 
slits in the rock through which offerings were introduced, and perhaps oracular responses 
given. They are eight inches high and two inches wide in widest part. On the fallen 
lintel of the great portal is a relief of the winged disc of the sun like those so often seen 
in Egypt. The village is filled with broken shafts, bases, and capitals of columns. 
The ruins on the site of this city are overgrown by thistles as high as a man's breast. 

We departed at 5:25 p. m. The descent of the mountain to reach the swampy 
plain of Ard el-Huleh is most difficult. We dismounted; and the horses jumped from 
crag to crag like goats. 

We reached camp at 'Ain Mellaha at 7:00 p. m. There is a fine stream of water 
here; a mill is built on its banks. The weather is fine: I slept in the open air. 

May 16th. — Arose at 4:30 a. m. ; Mass in tent; depart at 6:15 a. m. We reached 
the Jewish colony of el-Jauneh at 8:52 a. m. The colony was founded by the Roth- 
schilds. More than twenty-five have been thus founded in Syria. They would thrive 
were it not for the extortionate taxes levied by the Turkish government. 

We departed at 9:30 a. m. At 9:50 a. m. from a little rising ground we saw the 
Lake of Tiberias. 

Our way now left the cultivated plateau, and descended over rocks. All the land 
is a wilderness of rocks. We reached Jubb Yusef at 10:40 a. m. , rested twenty minutes. 
We continued southeast over the rocks, dismounting and leading our horses. The rock 
is black basalt. At 11:40 a. m. we came to the traditional site of Chorazin, called by 
the Arabs Keraseh. 

They cover an area as large, if not larger, than the ruins of Capharnaum, and are 
situated partly in a shallow valley, partly on a rocky spur formed by a sharp bend 
in the Wady Kerazeh, or, as is called lower down Wady Tell Hum, here a wild gorge 
eighty feet deep. From this last place there is a beautiful view of the lake to its south- 
ern end; and here too are gathered the most interesting ruins — a synagogue, with Cor- 
inthian capitals, niche heads and other ornaments, cut, not as at Tell Hum, in lime- 
stone, but in the hard black basalt. Many of the dwelling-houses are in a tolerably 
perfect state, the walls being in some cases six feet high ; and as they are probably the 
same class of houses as that in which our Saviour dwelt, a description of them may be 
interesting. They are generally square, of different sizes — the largest measured was 
nearly thirty feet — and have one or two columns down the centre to support the 
roof, which appears to have been flat, as in modern Arab houses. The walls are about 
two feet thick, built of masonry or of loose blocks of basalt; there is a low door- 
way in the centre of one of the walls, and each house has windows twelve inches 
high and six and one-half inches wide. In one or two cases the houses were divided 
into four chambers. 

The desolation is awful; not a human habitation. Well have the Saviour's words 
been verified: "Woe to thee, Chorazin!" 

We rode down through the rocky desolation to Tell Hum, arriving at the Francis- 
can Hospice at 1 2 :3o p. m. A great mass of ruins spread out right in front of the door 
of the hospice. The recent excavations here by the Germans have confirmed the be- 
lief that this is the site of the ancient Capharnaum. 

The two principal objects of interest at Tell Hum are the ruins of the ancient Syna- 
gogue and an old tomb. The Synagogue was built of limestone blocks, well dressed, 
and of the same character as other synagogues. The capitals were Corinthian, and 



592 



Capharnaum 



there were epistylia resting upon the columns. Some of the pedestals are still in situ, 
but the building is levelled to the ground. There are remains of a heavy cornice and 
frieze. The exterior appears to have been decorated with pilasters. On the eastern 
side is a later addition, consisting of a rectangular building having three entrances on 
the north and one on the east, the exterior having been decorated with pilasters similar 
to those of the synagogue. Mixed with the debris are broken fragments of lintels, 
cornices, and capitals, one lintel in particular bears a carved representation of "David's 
Seal" and a pot of manna. One large stone has a remarkable decoration upon it, which 
seems to be a representation of the ark. There are several indications of Roman work 




CAPHARNAUM 



in the architecture of this ruin, and in all probability we see before us the very remains 
of the synagogue built by the Roman centurion (St. Luke vii. 5 ) . 

Round the synagogue and up the slope behind are the ruins of the ancient town, 
covering an area at least three-quarters of a mile long by one-half mile broad. At 
the northern end is a tomb commonly called "the Tomb of Nahum." There is 
apparently little to justify this name; and, even if it be correct, it is probably the 
tomb of some Rabbi named Nahum, rather than of the Old Testament Prophet himself. 

Some of the ruined frieze is heavily ornamented with foliage, fruits, birds, and 
fantastical animals. The architecture is oriental Roman, resembling that of Baalbek. 
There are some fine fluted columns, and palm trees in relief. The Franciscans have 
allowed the Germans to excavate ; but the conditions are that no one shall be allowed 



The Lake of Tiberias 



593 



to describe or photograph the ruins until the Germans have published their report. 
The Franciscans have purchased a large tract of land, and will in time build here a 
church. The Franciscan brother and a few wretched Bedawin are the sole dwellers of 
the land at present. 

We departed at 4:45 p. m. along the rocky shore of the lake. Only a few patches 
of the land are cultivated by the Bedawin. 

We arrived at'Ain Tabigha at 5:50 p. m. at the hospitable German Hospice kept 
by the celebrated Father Zephyrin Biver. He is a veritable patriarch of large stature, 
with snow white beard which descends to his waist. He came here from the Latin 




FISHING ON LAKE OF TIBERIAS 



Patriarchate of Jerusalem alone to live among the Bedawin. Now German Catholics 
have bought a great part of the shore of the Lake of Gennesaret, and have wisely 
made this grand old hero their chief. The Bedawin come to him to decide their litiga- 
tions. He is one of the grandest Europeans whom we met in the East. 

We were well entertained. It was beautiful to sit in his garden in the clear moon- 
light, and look out on the Lake of Gennesaret. 

The lake is pear-shaped, the broad end being towards the north; the greatest 
width is six and three quarters miles, from Mejdel, "Magdala," to Khersa, "Gergesa," 
about one-third of the way down ; and the extreme length is twelve and a quarter miles. 
The Jordan enters at the north, a swift muddy stream, coloring the lake a good mile from 
its mouth, and passes out pure and bright at the south. On the northwestern shore 



594 



The Lake of Tiberias 



of the lake is a plain, two and a half miles long and one mile broad, called by the Beda- 
win El Ghuweir, but better known by its familiar Bible name Gennesaret; and on the 
north-east, near the Jordan's mouth, is a swampy plain, El Batihah, now much frequent- 
ed by wild boar, formerly the scene of a skirmish between the Jews and Romans, in which 
Josephus met with an accident that necessitated his removal to Capharnaum. On the 
west there is a recess in the hills, containing the town of Tiberias; and on the east, at 
the mouths of Wadys Semakh and Fik, are small tracts of level ground. On the south 
the fine open valley of the Jordan stretches away towards the Dead Sea, and is covered 
in the neighborhood of the lake with luxuriant grass. 



/ 




MENDING THE NETS BY THE SEA OF GALILEE 



The water of the lake is bright, clear, and sweet to the taste, except in the neigh- 
borhood of the salt-springs, and where it is defiled by the drainage of Tiberias. Its 
level, which varies considerable at different times of the year, is between six hundred and 
seven hundred feet below that of the Mediterranean — a peculiarity to which the dis- 
trict owes its genial Avinter climate. In summer the heat is great, but never excessive, 
as there is usually a morning and evening breeze. 

While we journeyed on the shores of this lake we bathed many times in its pleas- 
ant waters. 

Father Biver confirmed a belief that I had long entertained, that nationality comes 
first with all Europeans in the East; even religion becomes national. It would not be 
improbable to locate Bethsaida at 'Ain Tabigha. 



Mejdel 



595 



May 17th. — Arose at 4:30 a. m. ; Mass at 5:00 a. m. ; bath in lake; depart at 8:00 
a. m. The way passes through a canal cut through the rocks which has led to the 
belief that the waters of the source at 'Ain Tabigha were brought thus to Capharnaum. 

In five minutes we reach a ruined Arab Khan called Khan Minieh. It is at the 
northern border of the plain of Gennesaret. The ruins are of the time of Salah ed- 
Din. Some have placed here Bethsaida. 

The rich plain of Gennesaret stretches back from the lake in a great semicircle 
whose radius is perhaps two miles. At the south rises the great wall of rock in which 
is the grotto of Arbela, the famous den of robbers whom Herod slew by letting armed 




MAGDALA 



men down to them in chests and baskets, (Josephus Antiq. xiv. xv. 5.) The plain is 
fertile, but poorly cultivated. We rode through thistles higher than our heads. 

At the southern border of the plain the shore line bends in, forming a little bay. 
On a little point at the southern extremity is Mejdel the ancient Magdala. It con- 
tains about twenty huts and the ruins of an ancient tower. It is the only inhabited 
spot on the south-western shore of Gennesaret. 

We reached Mejdel at 9:15 a. m. The ruins of the ancient tower from which the 
place took its name have completely disappeared. This was the city of Mary Magda- 
lene so falsely confounded by tradition with the sinful woman. The German Catholics 
bought all the shore of the lake from Mejdel to Kahn Minieh for 310.000 Napoleons of 
gold. 



596 



Tiberias 



From Mejdel for one-half mile southward the wall of rock of the mountain comes 
out to the water's edge. 

We departed from Mejdel at 9:42 a. m. and entered Tiberias at 10:30 a. m. 

Population, between five thousand and six thousand, of whom about four thousand 
are Jews, three hundred Christians, and the rest Muslims. 

Tiberias is one of the four sacred cities of the Jews in Palestine. Both Sephardim 
and Ashkenazim Jews are here, the latter, however, greatly preponderating over the 
former. 

There is very little of interest at Tiberias in the shape of ancient remains. Most of 




TIBERIAS 



the ruins extend to the south of the present town; but, beyond the foundations of old 
walls, there is scarcely anything to be seen. At the foot of the hill on which Herod's 
palace once stood is a very well-preserved piece of old mosaic pavement, which is de- 
serving of a visit. 

History. — According to the Talmud (Tal. Jer. Megilla, i. 1), the site of Tiberias 
was formerly occupied by the city of Rakkath (Josh. xix. 35). In the fourth century 
(Tal. Bab. Sanhed. 12a) the Jews had actually dropped the name Tiberias, and reverted 
to the ancient name of Rakkath. The Roman city was built by Herod Antipas, and 
dedicated by him to the Emperor Tiberius (A. D. 16). It soon became the capital of 
the province of Galilee, and was fortified by Josephus during the wars of the Jews. It 



Tiberias 



.".07 



however, submitted peaceably to Vespasian, and appears to have escaped the hard- 
ships and disasters which befel other cities and villages at the hands of the Roman 
armies. After the fall of Jerusalem, the Sanhedrim, having first settled at Jamnia and 
then at Sepphoris, finally adopted Tiberias as their headquarters. The celebrated 
Rabbi Judah Hakkodesh, compiler of the Mishna, was president of the Sanhedrim at 
that time. Henceforth Tiberias became the principal seat of Jewish learning, and here 
was also compiled the Gemara, under Rabbi Johanan. Many noted rabbis besides 
those above mentioned lived and died here, and amongst the tombs of illustrious Jews 
at Tiberias are to be seen those of Johanan, Maimonides, Akiba, and^Meir. Under 




MOUNT OF BEATITUDES 



Constantine Tiberias became an episcopal see, and Christian churches were built here. 
Justinian rebuilt the walls of the city. It was captured by the Persians under Khosru 
(Khosroes), 614; by the Arabs under Omar, 637 ; and by the Crusaders under Tancred, 
who revived the bishopric. After the fatal battle of Hattin, in 1187, Tiberias fell into 
the hands of Saladin. In 1738, Dhahr- el-'Amr built a fort on the hill north of Tiberias, 
and repaired the walls of the city, which suffered terrible damage through the earth- 
quake of 1837. 

The Hammam, or hot baths, of Tiberias are situated at the southern extremity of 
the small plain, close to the shore. There are four springs, one rising under the old 
building, and three others at intervals of a few paces farther south. The water has 



598 



From Tiberias to Nazareth 



a temperature of 144° Fahrenheit; the taste is extremely salt and bitter, and a strong 
smell of sulphur is emitted. The baths are considered efficacious in rheumatic com- 
plaints and in cases of debility ; and they are visited in summer by people from all parts 
of the country. They occupy the site of Hammath, (Josh. xix. 35), and are mentioned 
by Pliny (Hist. Nat. x. 15) and Josephus (Ant. xviii. 2,3) under the name of Emmaus. 

At 2:15 p. m. we took a sail on the Lake of Gennesaret. When we set out the lake 
was calm. We made for the Gergesene shore, towards the traditional site of Gerasa. 
But a sudden wind' having arisen, we found it safer to steer for the southern shore, 




CANA OF GALILEE 

where the Jordan flows out of the lake. It is remarkable how suddenly storms arise 
on the lake. We sailed back at 7:20 p. m. The night was beautiful, and after a 
bath in the lake I lay down to sleep in the open air. 

May 17th. — Arose at 4:30; Mass in the Franciscan church. 

We set out at 7 : 13 a. m. for Nazareth. We passed the tomb of Maimonides on the 
hillside. It is built of masonry ten feet long; three feet high; three feet wide, painted 
white. Lamps of olive oil are kept burning there. A Jewish custodian keeps watch, 
and offers tapers to burn in honor of the great Rabbi. 

We soon gained the heights west of Tiberias. It was a relief to breathe the purer 
cooler air of the higher altitudes. The carriage road makes zigzags to gain the summit ; 
but we rode up by a direct steeper path. 



Kefr-Kexxa 



599 



After gaining the heights we rode over a fertile plateau to Kurun Hattin, the 
Horns of Hattin, the traditional site of the sermon on the Mount. This tradition is 
not older than the Crusaders; it is possible, though, of course, without proof. This 
was the scene of the famous victory of Salah ed-Din over the Crusaders on July 5,1187. 
The Crusaders were nearly annihilated, and their power was broken forever. 

It is a gentle uncultivated slope rising gently to the north from the road to Naza- 
reth. At its northern extremity it rises abruptly into two peaks of black rock which 
has given it the name of the Horns of Hattin. Much of the land of the great plateau 
is uncultivated. 

At 10:35 a. m. we left carriage road, and took path to south leading to Kefr Kenna, 
one of the probable sites of Cana of Galilee. 

This village is pleasantly situated on the side of a narrow valley, filled with fig- 
trees, pomegranates, and wild olives. By the side of the road, just before reaching the 
village, we come upon a clear crystal spring, which may have furnished the water 
which was afterwards changed into 
wine, if Kefr Kenna is the site of 
Cana. 

There is another place called 
Khurbet Kana eight miles north of 
Nazareth. Both sites are un- 
certain. 

We reached Kefr Kenna at 
1 1 :oo a. m. 

In 1900 the Franciscans found 
a mosaic three feet under level of 
present pavement of the church. 
It is a mortuary inscription in 
Hebrew characters. It is muti- 
lated. M. Clermont Ganneau in- 
terprets it : "In good remembrance ; 
Yoseh the son of Tanhum, the son of Butah (?), and his sons, who have made this 
tablet (mosaic?) ; may it be for a blessing unto them, Amen. . . . This tablet (?) 
(Mosaic?) .... blessing." 

It seems like the epitaph of a Christian Jew of an early date. 

In the Crypt the Franciscans have left a bank of earth with the inscription : "Here 
were placed the six waterpots. " This is stupid, and dishonest. The angels in Heaven 
may know where the aforesaid waterpots were placed ; but such knowledge is evidently 
barred from mortals. The pretension of the Schismatic Greeks is still more obsurd. 
In their church a little to the south, they show two great stone troughs about three 
feet deep; two feet in diameter at top, converging towards the bottom. One of these 
is the original baptismal font of the church built in the eighteenth century by the United 
Greeks. The other is the baptismal font of the schismatic Greeks built in 1566. It 
is horrible how all creeds in the East abuse the credulity of the faithful with false 
traditions. 

The village of Kefr Kenna is a wretched dirty huddle of 600 souls of whom onlv 
eighty are Catholics. They also show there the site of Nathaniel's house, which is a 
Franciscan chapel. 




600 



Seffurieh 



We departed at 2 p. m. westward over rocky hills. We saw many sarcophagi, 
trough graves cut out in the bed rock, with their covers beside them. We reached 
Seffurieh at 3.20 p. m. 

Seffurieh — Sepphoris — Dio-Caesarea, stands in a well-situated position upon a 
conspicuous hill; and there was doubtless a town of importance here from the very 
earliest times. It has not been identified with any Old Testament locality; but it is 



t 




OXEN TREADING OUT THE CORN 



called Sepphoris and Tzippori by Josephus and the Talmud. The Romans knew it as 
Dio-Caesarea. It was rebuilt by Herod Antipas, and became the capital of Galilee. 
In the year 180 it became the seat of the Sanhedrin, and was then the principal city 
in Palestine. It was also made the seat of a Christian bishopric. Tradition makes 
this the original home of the parents of the Virgin Mary, who is said to have been born 
here. In 339 the Jews in Sepphoris revolted against the Romans, and the city was, 
in consequence, destroyed. It had, however, again risen into importance by the time 



Nazareth 



601 



of the Crusades. Here assembled the great Christian army to join Guy of Lusignan, 
King of Jerusalem ; and hence they set forth on the eve of the fatal battle of Hattin in 
1 187. From that time little is recorded of the place. Seffurieh has now a population 
of about 2500. principally Muslims. 

The Church of St. Anne, named after the Virgin's mother, is in the north part of 
the village, and appears to date from the twelfth century. Only the apse remains, 
the roof of which is still existing. The nave was 29 ft. wide, and the total width of 
the church was 64 ft. There are two granite shafts in situ. The ruins are difficult to 
examine owing to the mud hovels around them. 

The Castle is on the hilltop east of the church, and commands a fine view. The 
lower story is perfect, and the south-west wall of the upper story remains. The gate 
is on the south. The exterior is 49 ft. 6 in. square, the interior 24 ft. 6 in. The walls are 
thus over 12 ft. thick. The castle must have been of enormous strength. A sarco- 




THRESHIXG THE GRAIX 



phagus is built into the north-east corner, another into the; southwest angle, a third 
on the west wall, north of the window. The castle appears to have been originally 
built by the Crusaders; but of this only the south-west corner and the staircase remain. 
The rest was constructed, about the. year 1750 by Ahmed, son of Dhahr el-Amr. 

We departed at 3.45 p. m. As we rode through the streets of Seffurieh many 
bodies of dead horses and cows, half eaten by dogs lay by the wayside. The stench 
was horrible. It is harvest time in Galilee. They are threshing the grain by driving 
horses and oxen on it on the threshing floors of earth. 

The way to Nazareth is uneven; constantly rising. Nazareth is built on a hill. 
We entered the city at 5.10 p. m. 

The Christian interest in Nazareth centres in the place of the Holy House. The 
Lord's life at Nazareth is hidden ; only one deed in his public life is located at Nazareth, 
his preaching in the synagogue. He worked not man}'' miracles here on account of 
the unbelief of his townsfolk. 



602 



Nazareth 



The population of Nazareth is about 12,000, of whom 9000 are Christian, 3000 
Muslims. 

The city stands on the slopes of a natural basin, formed by fourteen hills. It is 
beautifully secluded, and is an ideal spot for the home of Jesus. Nazareth strikes every 
traveler's eye at once as being cleaner, brighter, and more prosperous-looking than 
almost any inland town of Palestine. As might have been anticipated in a city so 
eminently Christian, Nazareth abounds in "holy sites." Amongst the objects of 
tradition displayed to view are "Mary's kitchen," "Joseph's workshop," "the Table 




NAZARETH 



of Christ," "The synagogue in which He preached," "the Mount of the 
Precipitation," and even "the spot where his mother trembled when his fel- 
low-citizens led him to cast him down from the brow of the hill whereon the city was 
built." Of course, the exact scene of the Annunciation is pointed out, and even the 
pillar is shown, miraculously suspended in the air, against which the angel Gabriel 
knelt. Except as memorial sites for devout reflection and meditation, these traditional 
spots are worse than fictitious, and the traveler will probably be glad to escape from 
them to visit one undoubted scene of sacred interest. At Mary's Well he may be sure 
that here at least he is on "holy ground," and, as he watches the Nazareth maidens 
and wives draw the water into their pots and hoist them on their heads, so he may 



Nazareth 



603 



picture to himself the Virgin Mother coming, day after day, to the self-same spot, 
sometimes accompanied by her Son Himself. 

Apart from the one all-absorbing fact that this was the home of the Saviour's 
boyhood, youth, and manhood, Nazareth may be said to have no history at all. It 
was apparently not even in existence in the time of Joshua, the land on which it stands 
having then belonged to Japhia (Yafa) . 

In fact, until the Annunciation (St. Luke i. 26-38), there is no mention extant of 
Nazareth. Before that event its name was unknown: since that event it has be- 
come a household word throughout Christendom. Magnificent srructures have been 




THE VIRGIN'S FOUNT AT NAZARETH 



built in commemoration of it, and thousands of pilgrimages have been made in honor 
of it. 

The subsequent history of Nazareth is not worth recording. One thing is re- 
markable — there was not a Christian inhabitant in it before the time of Constantine, 
nor a Christian pilgrimage to it till about the sixth century. In the seventh century 
it contained two churches — one built over the fountain where the Greek church now 
stands; the other on the site of Mary's house, now occupied by the Latin convent. 
Immediately after the capture of Jerusalem by the Crusaders, Tancred, to whom the 
province of Galilee had been given, built a church at Nazareth, endowed it, and 
transferred to it the see of Scythopolis. In 1263 the church was laid in ruins by Sul- 



604 



Nazareth 



tan Bibars; and thus it continued for nearly 400 years (till 1620), when the Francis- 
cans obtained permission from Fakr Eddin to rebuild it and take possession of the 
Grotto of the Annunciation. 

Nazareth is divided into three quarters: (1) The Latin quarter, on the south 
and south-west; (2) the Greek quarter, on the north and north-west; (3) the Muslim 
quarter on the east. 

1. The Latin quarter. The principal building is the monastery of the Francis- 




XAZARETH — CHURCH OF ANNUNCIATION 



cans, including the Church of the Annunciation. The present structure was erected 
in 1730. The high altar at the church faces north, on account of the grotto which 
lies beneath it. The length of the church is 70 ft. and the breadth 50 ft. A flight 
j^of broad steps leads down to the grotto, and on each side another flight leads up to 
" the altar. Behind the altar is a large choir. The vestibule of the Grotto, called also 
! "the chapel of the angel," measures 30 ft. by 12 ft., with a passage in the middle. 
'[On each'side of the passage is an altar — that on the right dedicated to St. Joachim, 



Nazareth 



605 



the father of the Virgin, and that on the left to the Angel Gabriel. The chapel 
within is reached by two steps, and is entirely rock cut, measuring about 20 ft. square. 
A wall divides it in two: the outer portion is "the Chapel of the Annunciation," with 
an altar on the north; the inner, which is reached by a narrow door to the right of 
altar, is dedicated to St. Joseph, with an altar on the south. An ancient pillarshaft 
of red granite hangs down from the roof of the outer chapel, and it was probably part of 
an older ornamentation of the grotto. This is the pillar which is said to be miraculous- 
ly suspended! From the north end of the chapel of St. Joseph fourteen rock-cut steps 
lead to an inner cavern. This is called Mary's Kitchen! The hole called the chim- 




THE PRECIPICE AT XAZARETH 



ney was probably the mouth of an ancient cistern. On the opposite side of the road 
to the monastery is the Latin hospice, or Casa Nuova. At the back of the hospice 
is the Franciscan convent. 

The Muslim quarter contains the Mosque, the Serai, and the Mufti's house, all 
close together. In this quarter also, south-east of the mosque, is the Latin church 
called '-Joseph's Workshop," built in 1850. 

The tradition that the Holy House was removed from Nazareth to Loretto seems 
to be a pious legend with no good foundation. 

Up on the hill near the church of the Table of the Lord a place is shown as the 
place where the Jews intended to cast Christ down. How foolish this tradition must 



606 



Nazareth 



appear from the fact that most probably the Jews had not fixed on a definite place. 
They intended to take Christ up on the hillside and throw him down from some con- 
venient place; but he passed through their hands, and went his way. 

Over two miles south of the city over a difficult path is a peak, which overlooks 
the Plain of Esdraelon. Here the Franciscans locate the place where Christ was to 
be thrown down; thus outraging good sense, and contradicting the Gospel which 
declares that the Jews would throw Christ down from the hill on which their city was 
built. Disgusted by these absurd traditions, scandalized by the mutual jealousies 




NAIM 



of the Christians in Nazareth, the mind of the pilgrim struggles to realize that here the 
Son of God was conceived by the Holy Ghost, and dwelt among men. 

Near the Church of the Annunciation is the Convent of the Ladies of Nazareth. 
The subterranean vaults of the Convent are very interesting. When their excavations 
laid bare these interesting ruins the Franciscans attacked them publicly in a book. 
We saw under the convent several oven-shaped graves cut in the rock. There is a laby- 
rinth of chambers in the cavern which extends under the church. Many ruined col- 
umns and coins have been found there. Also they found a Greek Eucharistic spoon, 
fragments of a paten, some Christian lamps, etc. Masses of molten iron, and ashes 
show that at two epochs the constructions were burned. The apses of the ancient 
church is visible. In a vaulted chamber there is a small rude stone Christian altar. 



Carmel 



607 



It seems to have been a cave used for burial purposes and afterward adapted as a 
Christian church. It is far more interesting than any other archaeological object in 
Xazareth. 

To the south about 7 miles distant is Xain. the site of Xaim ? a wretched village 
of about 100 muslirns. 

The night was beautiful : I slept in the open air. 

Mav 1 8th. — Arose at 2.30 a. m. ; Mass in Church of Annunciation at 3 a. m. We 
then finished the visit of the city, and departed for Carmel at 9.40 a. m. At 1 1 o'clock 
we entered the great Plain of Esdraelon. It is a slightly undulating plain of great 




GERMAN" COLOXY AT HAIFA 



fertiHtv. We reached Semuniye at 12 noon, the Simonias of Josephus. The German 
Templars attempted to settle here in 1867; but they all died of fever. The water is 
bad. We saw an American self-binder in the village. At 12.45 P- m -> we rode up out 
of the plain through beautiful hills covered with evergreen oaks. 

From the summit of these hills the road descends to the littoral of Haifa. 

At 1.07 p. m.. we halted under the shade of an oak tree for dinner; poor water; 
depart at 2.45 p. m. We crossed the Kishon at 3.10 p. m. and entered Haifa at 5 p. m. 
We did not halt, but rode up to the Carmelite Monastery on Mt. Carmel. arriving at 
5.45 p. m. This is the most hospitable monastery in all Syria, and its members are 
the largest minded, and freest from stupid traditions. 



608 



Carmel 



The range of Carmel is in form a triangle, the base of which is parallel to the 
Mediterranean; the vertex is el-Muhraka, the place of burning, the traditional place of 
Eliah's sacrifice, — I. Kings (iii. Kings, Vulg.) xviii. The highest altitude of Carmel is 
1800 feet at Esfiya, a Druse village; at el-Muhraka it is 1670 feet. The perimeter of 
the range is about 34 miles. It is the finest mountain of the Holy Land, Isaiah xxxv. 
2, speaks of the excellence of Carmel; the Canticle of Canticles vii. 5, makes the lover 
liken the head of his beloved to Carmel. 

Mount Carmel formed a kingdom by itself, but Joshua overthrew it and killed its 
king. It was bounded northeast by the tribe of Aser, east by the tribes of 




MOUNT CARMEL 



Zebulun and Issachar ; and southeast, by the tribe of Manasseh. Here God confounded 
the priests of Baal through the prophet Eliah. This prophet and his disciple 
Elisha, had here a school, called the School of the Prophets. The woman of Sunam 
came hither to beg Elisha to raise her son from the dead. 

Not only the Hebrews, but the Gentiles venerated Mount Carmel. In the life 
of Pythagoras, by Jamblicus, we read that the Greek philosopher visited the Sanc- 
tuary of Carmel. "There", he says, "Pythagoras remained alone in the temple." Fur- 
ther on, Jamblicus adds: "They have seen him coming down from the summit of Car- 
mel (a sacred mountain and regarded as inaccessible to vulgar people), in a solemn 
and devout manner. He did not look back, and neither precipice nor rock stopped him. 



Carmel 



609 



This sanctuary consisted of a kind of Temenos. or an open sacred enclosure, in 
the midst of which an altar was erected; for we read in Tacitus: "Between Judaea and 
Syria rises Mount Carmel. This is the name of a mountain and of a god. This god 
has neither statue nor temple, according to the wishes of the founders of his worship. 
He has but one altar at which he is adored." Vespasian came to sacrifice on 
Carmel, when his mind revolved secret projects. 

There are also some United Greeks and Druses on the Mount. 

In 1 155. St. Berthold was favored with a revelation, in which the prophet Eliah 
appeared to him and commanded him to retire to Mount Carmel, and build a monas- 
tery there. Previous to this, the hermits of Mount Carmel lived separately, sub- 
ject neither to rules nor to a common superior. The saintly old man resolved to found 
the Order of the Carmelites on this spot. St. Berthold, desiring someone to help him 
in his undertaking, went to Aimeric of Limoges, Latin Patriarch of Antioch, who had 
taken refuge in the kingdom of Jerusalem, on 
account of the molestations of Prince Renaud 
of Chatillon. St. Berthold informed the 
Patriarch of Antioch of the order received 
from Heaven, and begged him to favor the 
execution thereof. Aimeric. who was a 
wealthy man and esteemed for his zeal to 
maintain the rights of the Holy Church, 
favorably disposed King Baldwin III. . and 
Fulcher, Patriarch of Jerusalem, and also 
furnished the means for the construction of the 
new monastery. St. Berthold walled in all the 
selected territory, and built an oratory with a 
tower and cells, in honor of the Blessed Virgin 
and of the Prophet Eliah. 

About a dozen recluses, who dwelt here 
and there on the Holy Mountain, came to live 
in communion with him under fixed rules and 
regulations. 

St. Berthold and his disciples lived there 
more than thirty years, when all at once, 
in 1 181, the Christian people became terror stricken. Saladin's troops, having cap- 
tured Tiberias, began a general massacre in the Holy Land. By preference, they 
killed monks and priests, and took their property. The peaceful hermitage of Carmel 
did not escape. Several cenobites sealed with their blood the faith of Jesus Christ, 
and earned the crown of martyrdom. St. Berthold died in 1200, at the advanced age 
of 115 years, and his order celebrates his memory on March 29th. 

A few years later (11 59— 1209), Brocard, successor of St. Berthold, governed the 
hermits of Mount Carmel. About the same time St. Angelus, born at Jerusalem 
of Jewish parents, lived on Mount Carmel, and soon after St. Simon Stock, of Kent, 
England, came thither to practice penance. This saint became general of his order 
in 1243, instituted the Archconfraternity of the Scapular in Rome, and died in Bor- 
deaux twenty-two years later. In 1187, the Mussulmans, victorious in the battle of 
Hattin, demolished the convent of Carmel, but it was rebuilt by Rev. Prosper of the 




610 



Carmel 



Holy Ghost in 1636. It was again pillaged and sacked in 1776 by Muhammad-Abou- 
Dahab, who ordered three of the monks to be beheaded and the others to be imprisoned. 
Mount Carmel lost the protection of France in the French Revolution, When Bonaparte 
besieged Akka, Carmel opened its gates to receive the wounded and the dying. This 
general, having abandoned the siege on May 22, 1799, the Mussulmans captured the 
convent, massacred the wounded, scattered the religious, demolished doors and 




GROTTO OF ELIAH AT CARMEL 



windows, and left the sacred asylum entirely deserted. In 1827 the first stone of the 
new building was laid. 

The Convent of Mount Carmel, simple in style, is the finest and largest building 
of Palestine. Of a square form, the walls are as thick as those of a fortress. The 
church is on the ground floor, which is also used to lodge pilgrims, whilst the first floor 
is reserved for the religious, and is divided into an oratory, cells, a library and a chapter 
room. The children of Elias traditionally assert that the hermits of Mount Carmel 
transformed an oratory, which had been built before Christianity, into a church, in 



Carmel 



611 



honor of the pregnant Virgin ( Virgini pariturae ! . This church was destroyed by Chos- 
roes, the bands of Omar and Hakem, but was rebuilt by St. Berthold about the middle 
of the twelth century. In 1636 it was again restored by Rev. Father Prosper. Bro- 
ther John the Baptist built the church in 1S27, as we see it to-day; it is dedicated to 
our Ladv of Mount Carmel. and occupies the centre of the ground floor. It is in the 
form of a cross, and has a rotunda. Two stairways led to the main altar, which is 
surmounted by a fine statue of our Lady, richly decorated, bearing the child Jesus in 
her arms. Two side altars stand, each in a recess, corresponding with those of the 
vestibule and the main altar, thus forming a cross, whilst the center has a rotunda 
surmounted bv a cupola. Under the main altar and between the two stairways, five 
steps lead down into the Grotto of Eliah. 

The Grotto of Eliah. which, in former times, sheltered the prophets Eliah and Eli- 
sha. It is entirelv hewn into the hving rock, and has one altar, dedicated to those two 
prophets. It measures sixteen and one-third feet in length on one side, and almost ten 
feet on the other; its height just allows a man of average size to stand erect. It is 
venerated by Christians of all de- 
nominations and Mussulmans alike. 
The latter come sometimes from 
a great distance to venerate 
Eliah. for whom the}- have a child- 
like fear and love. Leaving the 
church by its only door facing the 
sea (west) we notice in a small 
garden a tombstone. 

This is where the French 
soldiers who were wounded in 
the siege of Akka were buried in 
1799. The}" were massacred in 
the Convent of Mount Carmel 
by the Mussulmans. In 1875 the 
Grand Duke of Mecklenburg, when 
visiting Mount Carmel, ordered the following epitaph to be engraved thereon: "In 
memory of the brave French soldiers who died in the siege of Akka (St. John 
d'Acre), 1799." 

At a little distance from the great Carmelite monastery is a cave that has been 
enlarged by chiseling. It is the traditional place of the School of the Prophets, and 
also of the sojourn on Carmel of the Holy Family. The Muslims hold possession of it. 

May 20th. — Mass in Grotto of St. Eliah at 6 a. m. ; depart at 8.55 a. m. We rode 
southeast along the ridge of Carmel. The ground is covered with rocks and small 
brushwood. 

A mile southeast of the Monastery of Carmel, the German Templars have avast 
tract of vineyards. They have also large possessions of land in the plain of Haifa 
which they cultivate by the best improved machinery. At 10 a. m. we rode along a 
ridge which commands a fine view of the ruins of Athlit, jutting out into the sea. One 
sees here many evidences of the shame of Christendom. Frequent ravines furrow the 
sides of Carmel. running down to the sea. At 12.10 p.m., we reached Esifiye the high- 
est point of the range. We reached the place of Eliah's sacrifice at el-Muhraka at 1.30 
p. in. The view to the north is grand ; it embraces all the Plain of Esdraelon the ancient 




TELL MUTESSELIM 



612 



Mutes selim — Taanach — Jenin 




CANAANITE IDOLS AT MUTESSELIM 



Jezreel, and the mountains to the north. To the northeast we see Mount Gilboa. 
The Kishon flows through the plain at the foot of Carmel. At the southeast foot of 
Carmel is Tell Keimun the ancient Jokneam of Josh. xii. 22. Many legends attach to 

Keimun, called Cyamon in the time 
of Judith. One legend is that Cain 
was here killed by Lamech. 

Another mound on the right 
bank of the Kishon is called Tell 
el-Kassis, the Mound of the Priests, 
from a tradition that Eliah slew 
the priests there. There is a Latin 
chapel at Muhraka. 

We departed at 4.15 p. m. 
down the steep rocky side of Car- 
mel. We entered camp at Tell 
Mutesselim at 7.10 p. m. ; night 
cool; slept in open air. 

May 21st. — Arose at 5 a. m. ; 
Mass in tent. 

The Germans under Prof. Schumacher have excavated at Tell Mutesselim. It is 
identified with ancient Megiddo. The tell is well situated at the southern border of 
the great Plain of Esdraelon. 

As I have spoken at length of the excavations at Gezer, I shall not lengthen my 
account by the description of this Canaanite city, whose ancient history was much like 
that of Gezer and Ta'anach. 

At a depth of from 20 to 30 feet the explorers found ancient walls of small stone, 
tombs with human bones, menhirs smaller than those of Gezer; skeletons of men and 
children in little walled enclosures, jars with charred remains of human bones, etc. 

We left Tell Mutesselim at 9.05 
a. m. for Tell Ta'anach, which we 
reached at 10.50 a. m. 

Taanach was a royal city of 
the Canaanites (Josh. xii. 21); it 
was afterwards a Levitical city, 
belonging to the tribe of Manasseh 
(ibid. xA - ii. n, xxi. 25).; and it is 
mentioned in the Song of Deborah 
and Barak. 

The excavations here were car- 
ried on by Prof. Sellin of Vienna, 
and we have before described 
them. The ruins greatly re- 
semble those of Tell Mutesselim. 
Depart at 11.40 a. m. ; arrived at 
Jenin at 1.20 p. m. Dinner under a great mulberry tree by a copious stream of water. 

Jenin is the ancient Engannim, a Levitical city of Issachar (Josh. xix. 21, xxi. 
29). Here was the border-line also between the provinces of Galilee and Samaria 
in the time of Christ. The situation of the little town is beautiful, and it is magnifi- 




TAANAC 



JEXIX D0THAX 



613 



cently watered, its modern name signifying much the same as that which it bore in 
Hebrew days — viz. Fountain Gardens. The fountains rise in the hills behind the gar- 
dens, and the water is brought by a covered aqueduct to. a stone reservoir in the centre 
of the town, built by 'Abd el-Hady. Mudir of Acre, in the first half of the nineteenth 
century. Jenin. which was called Ginaea by Josephus, is the seat of a Kaimmakam, and 
contains about 4500 inhabitants, the greater part of whom are fanatical Muslims. Xear 
the north side of the town is the mosque of 'Ezz-Eddin, with a large dome and minaret. 




JEXIX 



We departed at 4.20 p. m.. leaving the plain of Esdraelon, and passing through a 
narrow wady. 

At 4.35 p. m. we reached the Bir Bihame, the ancient Jibleam, one of the finest 
springs in Syria. 

At 5.05 p. m. we rode up out of a wady into the fine plain of Dothan. reached 
the hill at 6 p. m. 

It was in the rich plain which we are now traversing that the sons of Jacob 
were pasturing their flocks when Joseph came to visit them on an errand from 
his father. The hillside is still dotted with ancient rock-cut, bottle-shaped cisterns; 
and it is doubtless in one of these that Joseph was placed by his brethern, 
previous to his being sold by them to a caravan of Ishmaelites, who were passing along 
the main road, which then, as now, came across the Jordan from the land of Gilead. 



614 



Samaria 



up the Valley of Jezreel, across the Plain of Esdraelon, and through this opening in the 
mountain-district to Sharon, and so to Egypt (Gen. xxxvii. 15-28). Dothan is also 
famous for an interesting episode in the life of the prophet Elisha, recorded in 2 Kings 
vi. 8-23. 

The shepherds were tending their flocks in the plain, reminding us of the history 
of Joseph. 

May 22nd. — Arose at 5 a. m. ; Mass in tent; depart at 6.52 a. m. 
We rode south over the hills to the swampy plain Merdj el-Ghuruk, which we reach- 
ed at 7.50. Up on the hill to the west is Sanur, which Guerin identifies with Bethulia. 
Farther south is Mithilia, also a possible site of Judith's city. Both places command 
the plain, and are possible sites of Bethulia; but the site of Bethulia must remain con- 
jectural. We now ride out of the Merdj el-Ghuruk into the narrower Plain of Sileh, 
which bends to the southwest. We cross the plain and again enter the hills even unto 
the steep hill of Sebastiye whose summit we gain at 11.05 a - m - Here are the ruins 

of Sebaste, the ancient Samaria. 

Before we began the ascent of 
the hill we crossed a small stream 
of water at the foot of the hill. 
This may be the Pool of Samaria 
where Ahab's bloodstained chariot 
was washed, and where dogs licked 
his blood, I (Vulg. Ill) Kings xxii.38. 

The situation of the ancient 
capital of Israel, if less beautiful, 
is more commanding than that 
of Shechem. We can understand 
why Omri should have selected 
this remarkable site for his royal 
city. In the centre of a basin 

AQUEDUCT AT JENIN , 

nearly 5 miles m diameter, and 
almost surrounded by lofty hills, rises this flat, oval-shaped eminence to the height 
of from 400 feet to 500 feet. It is isolated on all sides but the east, where a narrow sad- 
dle runs out about 200 feet below the top of the hill. On the summit is a long, flat 
plateau, on which stood the ancient city. The hill is cultivated in terraces, in the for- 
mation of which the stones of old Samaria and Sebaste have been used. Groves of 
olives almost cover the south side, and single trees dot the rest. A knoll rises above the 
plateau to the west of the modern village, and the landscape as seen from this spot is one 
of the richest in Palestine. Admirably situated as is the position for the metropolis of a 
kingdom, its very isolation rendered it, in olden days, especially liable to be completely 
hemmed in; and we can readily comprehend the straits to which the inhabitants 
were reduced in the protracted and terrible siege of Samaria (2 Kings vi. 24-33). 

History of Samaria. — According to the account given in 1 Kings xvi. 23, 24, 
the hill derived its name from its owner, Shemer, from whom it was purchased by 
King Omri. Previous to the purchase of this hill by Omri, Tirz ah had been the capital 
of Israel, having in its turn been preceded by Shechem. 

Omri, Ahab, Ahaziah, Jehu, Jehoahaz, Joash, and some of the other kings of Is- 
rael were buried in Samaria (iK. xvi. 28, xxii. 37; 2 Kings i. 2, 17, x. 35, xiii. 9, 13, xv. 
22, 25), but the royal tombs have not yet been discovered. Elisha the prophet lived 




Sebastiteh 



615 



here during a certain portion of his life, and some of his most wonderful actions are 
connected with Samaria (see 2 Kings ii. 25. v. 1-27. vi. 19—33. vu - 1-20 1. 

In B. C. 720 Samaria was taken by the Assyrians. It appears to have remained 
for a time the capital of the new colonists, though the more ancient Shechem soon 
became the chief city of the Samaritans as a religious sect. The next important event 
in its historv was its being given by Augustus to Herod the Great, who rebuilt and 
adorned it. giving it the name Sebaste. after his benefactor. In the centre of the 
buildings, we are told, he left an open space of a stadium and a half in area, and upon 




SAXOUR— BETHULIA 



it he erected a splendid temple in honor of the emperor. It doubtless stood on or near 
the summit of the hill, and a nobler site could hardly be imagined. 

In Sebaste Philip "preached Christ", and founded a church. Here. too. Simon 
the Sorcerer was converted to Christianity, and afterwards excommunicated (Acts 
viii. 5—24). Of its subsequent history little is known: it became the seat of a bishop, 
but fell almost entirelv to ruin during the fourth or fifth century. It revived a little 
under the Crusaders, and was made the seat of a Latin bishopric. 

There is still a Greek bishop of Sebastiyeh. but he is non-resident : and there are 
only a few Greek Christians here, the bulk of the villagers being Muslims. They are 
somewhat notorious for the turbulence of their character, and the place is now in a 
degraded condition. This miserable little hamlet, a few heaps of rubbish in the valley, 
a few piles of stones amid the terraced vineyards, a lonely and dilapidated colonnade, 



616 



Sebastiyeh 



and one or two isolated groups of pillars, are all that now remain of the royal Samaria 
and the magnificent Sebaste (see Hos. xiii. 16). 

The modern village of Sebastiyeh contains about sixty houses, with a population 
of 400. It stands on the terrace midway up the eastern side of the hill. The houses 
are substantially built of old materials, and in their walls may be seen many a remnant 
of ancient splendor. The first object we see on entering it is the Church of St. John. 

We enter the building from a sunk court on the west through a low door. It is 
a fine Crusading structure, erected between the years 1 1 50 and 1 180, over the traditional 
grave of St. John the Baptist. It is now a complete ruin. 




SEBASTE— SAMARIA 

Over the crypt is a modern kubbeh, and the tomb of St. John the Baptist is be- 
neath, reached by a steep flight of thirty-one steps. Here the graves of Elisha and 
Obadiah are also shown. The Arabs call the sepulchre "Neby Yabyah." Josephus 
says that the Baptist was beheaded at Fort Machaerus, east of the Dead Sea; but it is 
not likely that Herod Antipas would have been holding his festive court in that lonely 
and forbidding spot; and it seems by no means improbable that the tradition, which 
dates back at least to the days of Jerome, is right, and that St. John did meet his death 
in Samaria. This is all the more likely because the scene of his later baptisms 
was only a few miles to the east of Samaria, at the head of Wady Far'ah, 
and therefore he might well have been taken to the dungeons beneath Herod's palace 
at Sebaste, on being apprehended by the royal officers. The tomb is evidently of a 



Grand Colonnade of Samaria 



617 



much earlier date than the church, the masonry being far more heavy and compact. 
The black basalt door at the right of the entrance in the interior has probably been 
brought hither from one of the ancient cities of Bashan. 

In the village there are no other ruins of importance ; and as the whole hill has been 
long under cultivation, the stones of the temples and palaces of Samaria have been re- 
moved from the soil, thrown together in heaps, built up in the rude walls of terraces, 
and rolled down into the valley below. On ascending the hill we reach an open area, 
once surrounded with columns, fifteen of which stand without their capitals, and two 




GRAND COLONNADE OF SAMARIA 



are fallen. Descending again over terraces towards the southwest, we reach the Great 
Colonnade. 

It commences on the west at a large mass of ruins (probably the remains of a 
triumphal arch like that at Palmyra, or a portal like the east gate of Damascus), 
and runs eastward about iooo feet in a straight line; then, curving to the left 
and following the sweep of the hill, it extends, or rather did extend, as far as the 
village. In the western section sixty of the columns are standing, all decapitated, 
and deeply sunk in the soil. Twenty more are counted at intervals eastward, and 
many others are lying among the terraces and olive-trees. There were two ranges 
50 feet apart, extending, so far as can now be ascertained, about 3000 feet. The shafts 
measure 16 feet in height by 2 in diameter, tapering slightly to the top. The order was 
apparently Corinthian. 



618 



Sebaste 



There cannot be a doubt that these colonnades were intended, like those in Pal- 
myra, Damascus, and Gerasa, to ornament the great street of the city. But the 
street and city are gone, and the shafts now stand lonely and bare. When we stand 
on this hill and look on these columns shooting up from vines and green corn, on the 
piles of hewn stones in the terraced fields, and on the heaps among the olive trees in 
the valley below, we cannot but recall the prediction of Micah i. 6. 

On the northeast side of the hill stands another group of Columns deserving a visit. 

They stand on a plateau on the side of the hill, which appears to have been levelled 
by art. The columns are arranged in the form of a quadrangle, 540 feet in length 




VALLEY OF NABULUS (SHECHEM) 



from east to west, by 180 feet in breadth. They are 8 feet asunder from centre to 
centre; and there must have been about 170 columns when the structure was com- 
plete. Fifteen whole shafts and one half-one are in their places, and many others are 
scattered about half-embedded in the soil; but not a capital, nor a fragment of a ruin, 
is visible. In size and material they resemble those of the great colonnade, and are 
probably of the same date. Most authorities agree in assigning them to the time of 
Herod. 

To the right of our path just below these columns, the ground has been artificially 
excavated into the form of an Amphitheatre ; and here we have no doubt such a building 
once really existed. On the north side of the valley, on the way towards Beit Imrin 



Nabulus 



619 



are numerous roek-cut tombs forming, perhaps, a portion of the ancient cemetery 
of Samaria. 

We left Sebastiye at 2.52 p. m., descending into the great valley which lies between 
Ebal and Gerizim. We reached Nabulus at 4 p. m. 

Xabulus. the anc-ient Shechem is beautifully situated amid olive groves, gardens 
and orchards, well watered by many springs. Population, about 20,000, of whom 
160 are Samaritans, 600 Christians, 200 Jews, and the rest Muhammadans. Nabulus 
is one of the most bigoted and fanatical Muslim cities in Palestine. The principal 
buildings in the town are mosques, of which the largest faces one soon after entering the 




XABULUS AXD MOUNT EBAL 



city from the east. It stands at the junction of two streets, and has a beautiful 
gothic gateway, painted red, white, and blue. It was once a Christian church, and is 
now called Jami'a el-Kebir, or "the Great Mosque." The Samaritan Synagogue is 
a poor whitewashed room with a dome and skylights, and a recess called Mizbah, 
where the ancient MSS. are kept. This recess is 5 feet square, and is generally covered 
with a veil. It is so placed that the worshippers in looking towards it are also facing 
their sanctuary on Mount Gerizim. The Samaritan synagogue-worship very much 
resembles that of the Jews, the high priest chanting the service in a broken monotone, 
and swaying himself to and fro like the Jewish rabbis. The Samaritans themselves 
are a very remarkable people, who seem to be gradually dying out. 



620 



Nabulus 



History of Nabulus, or Shechem. When Abraham first entered Canaan he came 
"unto the place of Shechem " (Gen. xii. 6). Shechem is thus the oldest town in the Holy 
Land of which we have any written record, and its history extends over a period of 
nearly 4000 years. Here Jacob took up his abode, and became a landed proprietor 
(ibid, xxxiii. 18-20). Here Simeon and Levi treacherously avenged the dishonor of 
their sister Dinah by the murder of the whole male population of the city (ibid, xxxiv. 
1-3 1). Here, under an oak, Jacob hid the idols which his family had brought from 
Haran (ibid. xxxv. 4). Hither came Joseph in search of his brethren, on the occasion 
when they sold him to the Ishmaelites at Dothan (ibid, xxxvii. 12-14). Here, as we 




THE VALLEY OF NABULUS (SHECHEM) 



have seen, was the great scene of the giving of the law to Israel (Josh. viii. 30-35). 
Here occurred the stirring incidents connected with Abimelech and Jotham (Judges 
ix. 1-49). Here Rehoboam was crowned king of all Israel; and here occurred the 
great revolt which led to a final rupture of the kingdom (1 Kings xii.). Shechem 
was not, however, destined to be the capital of the ten tribes, which was fixed, first 
at Tirzah, and then at Samaria. Shechem was one of the Levitical cities, and also 
one of the cities of refuge (Josh xx. 7, xxi. 20, 21). From the time of the captivity 
of Israel the history of Shechem was bound up with that of the Samaritans. During 
the reign of Vespasian the city was rebuilt and surnamed Neapolis ("the New City"), 
of which the modern Nabulus is merely a corruption. Justin Martyr was born at Neap- 



Gerizim 



_ 621 



olis. Little is heard of the city until the time of the Crusaders, when Tancred obtained 
possession of it. Nabulus was sacked by the Saracens in 1154, and again in 1187. 
An earthquake occurred here in 1202. The Christians recaptured is in 1242, but it 
soon afterwards fell again into the hands of the Muslims. It was nearly destroyed 
by the great earthquake of 1837, and was sacked shortly after by Ibrahim Pasha. 
In the little Samaritan temple we induced the Samaritan custodian by a bakshish 




SAMARITAN PRIEST WITH SAMARITAN CODEN 



of 4 francs to show us the three scrolls of the Samaritan Codex. Judas Iscariot was not 
more venal than this wretched Samaritan. I fear Christ would look in vain in Na- 
bulus for another good Samaritan. This strange people are now restricted to Nabulus, 
and do not number more than a hundred souls. They are undoubtedly sprung from a 
mixture of Assyrian colonists with Jews. 

The ascent of Gerizim is steep, and a horse or donkey should be taken. 
We climb to the heights on the south-west of the town, where is the spring of Ras 
el-'Ain. This is a romantic spot, commanding a fine view of the houses and environs 



622 



The Samaritan Passover 



of Nabulus. On summer evenings it is a favorite place of resort for the inhabitants of 
the city, who may be seen here in varied and picturesque groups, smoking narghilehs 
and drinking coffee. Hence our road winds up the glen by a terribly bad path, and a 
stiff climb ensues of nearly half an hour's duration. On gaining the top we have be- 
fore us a broad plateau, or rather close succession of mountain summits, covered with 
stones, but cultivated in patches and terraces, between which the stones have been 
heaped together. The prospect is wild and dreary. We proceed along the top due 
east, towards a conspicuous wely on a rocky knoll, and in 15 minutes reach the base 
of the latter. Here we observe a few perches of tolerably level ground, where the 




SAMARITAN ENCAMPMENT ON MOUNT GERIZIM 



Samaritans camp at the feast of the Passover. On its eastern side is a small rectan- 
gular area, surrounded by stones, like the foundations of an old building. In its centre 
is a trough about a foot deep and 4 feet long, filled with ashes and calcined bones, 
the remains of the Passover lambs which are burned with fire according to the com- 
mand in the Law (Exod. xii. 10). Beside the enclosure is a circular pit 3 feet in diam- 
eter and 8 or 10 feet deep, in which the lambs are roasted. The Samaritan Passover 
is rigidly observed in accordance with the exact directions laid down by Moses (Exod. 
xii. 3—28). In this respect it differs considerably from the modern Jewish rite, and is, 
in consequence, far more interesting. The tents of the community are pitched 
around the inside of the enclosure formed by rough walls, which is called Khurbet 



The Samaritan" Passover 



623 



Lozeh, or "the Ruin of Luz." from the Samaritan tradition which makes Gerizim the 
scene of Jacob's dream (Gen. xxviii. 19). The tabernacle stands at the south-east 
corner of the camp, close to the enclosure in which is the trough. 

On the afternoon preceding the eating of the Passover the scene is animated and 
picturesque. The younger men complete all necessary preparations; some of the older 
ones recite portions of the Law; but the majority loiter about or repose within their 
tents. The one great drawback to the enjoyment of a visit is the importunate demand 
for bakshish which incessantly assails the visitor's ears from every member of the 
Samaritan community — men, women, and children. As sunset approaches, the men 




RUIXS OF CHURCH OX MOUXT GERIZIM 



collect in the tabernacle, and the women and children take up their positions at the 
doors of their tents. The men are for the most part clothed in long white garments, 
like surplices. The ceremony now commences with prayers, ejaculations, and a spread- 
ing out of hands. Six or seven lambs are kept in readiness in the space behind the 
tabernacle door. A careful watch is kept on the downward progress of the sun; and as 
he dips into the west the high priest steps forward out of the tabernacle, accompanied 
by the white-robed men, who form a group around the place of sacrifice. When the 
last golden arc of the sun has sunk out of sight behind the Mediterranean Sea, the 
priest repeats, in a loud and rapid voice, the Samaritan version of the latter half of 
Exod. xii. 6. In an instant the lambs are seized and passed from one to another of 



624 



The Samaritan Passover 



the sacrificial ministers until they reach the white-robed man whose office is to slay 
them. As they lie quivering in their death-throes, two or three of the surpliced young 
men catch the blood in basins and proceed around the camp, sprinkling the upper and 
side posts of the tent-doors, and the faces of the women and children, with the blood. 
The carcasses of the lambs are then examined, and, if pronounced faulty, are rejected 
and consumed in a separate fire. If passed as without blemish, their fleeces are stripped 
off and their entrails extracted. Each carcass is then pierced lengthwise by a wooden 
spit, with a cross bar near the extremity, and carefully placed in the circular pit, which 
has been already heated like an oven. When all are safely deposited, the mouth of 




ROCKS ON WHICH THE SAMARITANS PRAY 

the pit is closed up with sticks and mud, and there the bodies remain until they are 
fully roasted (see Exod. xii. 9). Unleavened bread and bitter herbs have already 
been prepared; and as soon as the roasting is completed (which is not until midnight 
generally) the whole male community gather round the oven, the covering of which is 
torn off, and the roasted lambs are dragged out on their long spits, black and charred. 
The eating is done literally, according to verse 11, with loins girded, with shoes on 
feet, with staff in hand, and in haste. In less than ten minutes almost every vestige 
of the meat is gone, the women and children being supplied in the tents. The rem- 
nants are carefully searched for and cast into a fire, and "nothing remaineth until 
the morning." 



Gerizim 



625 



From the place of sacrifice we ascend to the summit of the rock)- knoll. Here lie 
the principal ruins of Mount Gerizim. and they may be divided into Christian and 
Samaritan remains. 

I. Christian' Ruins. — These consist of a Byzantine church, commenced in 475 
by Zeno and finished about 530 by Justinian, surrounded by a rectangular fortress 
with corner towers, and having a large reservoir on the north. The Reservoir is the 
first ruin which we enter. It is 120 feet long from east to west, and 60 feet broad from 
north to south. Such reservoirs were not uncommon in Byzantine monasteries. 
The church was octagonal in shape, with an apse to the east and small side chapels on 




JACOB'S WELL 

east and south. Only the foundations remain. The Christian remains stand on 
the foundations of the Samaritan Temple built by Sanballat. 

II. Samaritan Ruins. — (a) The Twelve Stones, said by the Samaritans to have 
come from the Jordan (Josh. iv. 3), are on the west side of the fortress, and form part 
of a solid platform of unhewn masonry. They form the uppermost of four courses 
of stones, and are set back 8 inches behind those below. There are no particular 
marks upon them, but they probably formed part of the substructure of the Samaritan 
temple. 

(b) The Sakhrah, or Sacred Rock, similar to that within the Mosque of Omar at 
Jerusalem, is said by the Samaritans to mark the spot where the tabernacle was erected 
by Joshua. It is a flat rock of limestone, sloping towards the northwest, at the end of 
which is a deep cave, not unlike that under the rock at Jerusalem. Indeed, it is re- 



626 



Mount Ebal 



markable to notice how closely in many respects the plateau on the summit of Gerizim 
resembles that on Moriah. There are several platforms of unhewn stones in various 
parts, analogous to the praying-places in the Haram. 

(c) The Place where Abraham offered up Isaac, according to the Samaritan tra- 
dition, stands at the southeast corner of the plateau, and is approached by a curious 
semicircular flight of seven steps. A rock-cut trench, measuring eight feet by five feet, 
has apparently been used for sacrificial purposes. 

Mount Ebal is three hundred feet higher than Gerizim. Its sides are more rugged, 
and its general outline perhaps bolder. The ascent is not difficult — a goat-path lead- 




"SHILOH 



ing up from the town past a little wely called Amud ed-Din ("the Pillar of Religion"). 
The summit of Ebal, like that of Gerizim, is a broad irregular plateau, partially culti- 
vated. Upon it will be noticed a number of circular enclosures encompassed by rude 
but massive stone walls, or rather dykes, resembling the Danish forts so frequently 
met with in Ireland. On the highest point is an enclosure, measuring ninety-two feet 
square, with walls twenty feet thick, built of selected unhewn stones without mortar. 
It is now called Khirbet el-Keniseh ("the Ruined Church") . The summit and sides of 
the mountain are studded with ancient cisterns, wells, and rock hewn tombs. The 
side facing the north and northeast is cultivated, and covered with rich cornfields and 
vineyards. 



Jacob's Well 



H27 



The View from the summit of Ebal is even finer and more extensive than that 
from the top of Gerizim. 

We left the top of Gerizim at 9:45 a. m. ; the descent of the mount was made in 
twenty-seven minutes. We reached Jacob's Well at 10:25 a. m. 

The Greeks have built a stone wall around the enclosure in which it stands : but it 
is easy to effect an entrance inside. There is no doubt about the identity of the well, 
which is recognized by Christians, Jews, Samaritans, and Muslims alike. The land 
around it in the plain is, therefore, "the parcel of ground which Jacob bought of the 
sons of Hamor. the father of Shechem" (Josh. xxiv. 32^. On this land the patriarch 




SHILOH— THE SACRED TREE 



erected an altar, which he called "el-Elohe-Israer - (Gen. xxxiii. 20). He dug this well 
in order to avoid any dealings with the natives of the district ; otherwise there would 
have been no need for it, for the whole neighborhood abounds in springs. 

The main centre of attraction connected with Jacob's Well is. of course, the mem- 
orable seene which here took place between Jesus and the Samaritan woman. The 
woman belonged to the town of Sychar. now the modern village of Iskar. which is seen 
a few hundred yards to the north, clinging to the base of Mount Ebal. (The traveler 
must be careful not to confound Sychar with Shechem. as is so often the case). The 
fourth chapter of St. John's Gospel should be read attentively here. On the summit of 
Gerizim. close to the white-domed wely. are the ruins of the great Samaritan temple to 



(i'28 



Shiloh 



which the woman doubtless pointed when she said, "Our fathers worshipped in this 
mountain" (ver. 20). The whole scene of the interview can be vividly pictured to the 
mind. 

The dimensions of the well are as follows: Depth, seventy-five feet; breadth, 
seven feet six inches. The mouth is formed by one massive stone with a circular open- 
ing in it, the length of which is three feet nine inches, breadth, two feet seven inches, 
and thickness, one foot six inches. It stands thirteen inches above a pavement of 
limestone, and the diameter of the aperture is seventeen and one-half inches. Above 
the well stands a ruined vault, twenty feet long, ten feet broad, and six feet high; and 




on the northwest side of the vault is the entrance to a second vault, now walled up. 
These vaults are comparatively modern, and are probably Crusading. A church 
was built over the well about the middle of the fourth century. It was cruciform, 
with the well in the centre. To this church probably belonged the pavement and the 
pillars which we see to the northeast and southeast of the well. 

About six hundred yards north of the well is Joseph's Tomb, also venerated alike by 
all native religious communities. Its site is most probably genuine ; though the present 
tomb itself is simply a Muslim cenotaph (see Josh. xxiv. 32). 

AVe left Jacob's Well at 11:00 a. m., at 12:20 p. m. we stopped for dinner in an olive 
orchard in the plain. 

At 2:20 we departed, and arrived at Seilun the ancient Shiloh at 5:30 p. m. 



Bethel 



629 



There is nothing either in the few remains or in the scenery to attract notice; 
and, but for the name and the description of its situation in Judges xxi. 19, we should 
have great difficulty in identifying the place where the ark and the tabernacle remained 
for over three hundred years. The precise spot where the tabernacle stood was, doubt- 
less, on the rounded tell at the northern end of the small plain, which is now scattered 
with shapeless ruins, and has a deep valley behind it. Above these ruins is a terrace 
with rocky sides and other terraces below it. It is four hundred and twelve feet long by 
seventy-seven feet wide, and on this terrace we may locate the tabernacle. Before 
reaching the tell we come to two buildings, both deserving of notice. That which we 
reach first appears to belong to three different periods. Inside the entrance, which 
is on the north, is a prostrate lintel stone six feet long, two feet high, and carved with 
two wreaths, flanked by double-handed pitchers, and with a jar in the centre. This 
is evidently Jewish, and marks the present place as the site of an old synagogue. Inside 
are four pillars of the Byzantine age. indicating the existence of a Christian church. 

The second ruin lies farther north, and is called Jami'a el-Yeteim, or "the Mosque 
of the Servants of God." It is 
situated just at the foot of the tell 
on which the tabernacle stood, and 
is shaded by a large oak tree. 

AVe camped in the plain at 
Turmus 'Aya. the Thormasia of 
the Talmud, one-half hour's ride 
from Shiloh. 

May 24th. — Arose at 5:00 
a. m. ; Mass in tent at 5:30 a. m. ; 
depart at 7:20 a. m. The road 
leads over hills and through 
wadys. at times very difficult. 
We reached Beitin, the ancient 
Bethel at 10:00 a. m. It stands 

, . RUINS AT BETHEL 

on the shelving rock of a rockA - 

ridge between two converging valleys. The soil round about is stony and barren; 
the village is wretched and dirty. Bethel was one of the great sanctuaries of the 
Old Law. 

On a hill to the east of it (Gen. xii. 8) Abram pitched his tent, and afterwards 
erected an altar (ibid. xiii. 3). On that same spot Jacob had his well-known dream 
(ibid, xxviii. 11-19). On his return from Haran, Jacob also built an' altar there, or, 
more probably, repaired that which is grandfather had erected (ibid. xxxv. 6-15). 
There also Deborah, the nurse of Rebekah was buried (ver. 8). The "King of Bethel" 
was one of those whom Joshua subdued (Josh. xii. 16), and Bethel was selected as one 
of the principal points to mark the southern boundary of the tribe of Ephraim (ibid, 
xvi. 1,2) and the northern boundary of Benjamin (ibid, xviii. 13), in which latter tribe 
the city itself was situated (ver. 22). It was however, afterwards seized by Ephraim 
(Judges i. 22-26. iv. 5 ). and was, in the time of the Judges, a great rallying-point of the 
tribes of Israel (ibid. xx. 18. 26. 31). It was one of the assize towns where Samuel 
judged (1 Sam. vii. 16), and. on the division of the kingdom of Israel, it assumed a 
position of great importance, both as a sanctuary and as a border-fortress. Bethel 
was. in fact, the key of both the kingdoms of Judah and Israel. Here Jeroboam built 




630 



Return to Jerusalem 



his temple and set up his golden calves ( i Kings xii. 29-33) - an d here occurred the prin- 
cipal scenes in the sadly interesting story of the "disobedient prophet" (ibid. xiii. 1-32). 

At Bethel was one of the noted "Schools of the Prophets," similar to that still 
seen at the point of Mount Carmel, near Haifa; and hither came Eliah and'Elisha on 
their memorable journey to the Jordan (2 Kings ii. 2, 3). The evil reputation 
which the place had gained in the eyes of the Jews owing to the worship of the 
golden calves, seems to have caused its name to be changed by them from Bethel 
("House of God") into Bethaven ("House of Idols") (Hos. iv, 15, v. 8, x. 5, 8) , although 
the place was called indiscriminately by either name (see Josh. vii. 2, xviii. 12; 1 Sam. 
xiii. 5, xiv. 23). 

The ruins occupy an area about one hundred and sixty ft. long by one hundred ft. 
broad, having chambers along the wall. Beitin is well supplied with water from a 
double spring, surrounded by a large reservoir three hundred and fourteen feet long by 
two hundred and seventeen feet broad, the south and east walls of which are still stand- 
ing to a height of ten feet. The spring is perennial. 

To the east on the slope of the hill near Deir Diwan is a probable site of Ai. 

We ate dinner at el-Bireh the ancient Beeroth at noon; departed at 3:10 p. m. 
At 4:10 p. m. we passed er-Ram, the ancient Ramah of Benjamin; at 5:50 arrived at 
Sh'afat, possibly the site of Nob. Several of the Dominicans from St. Etienne met us 
here with refreshments, and accompanied us back to Jerusalem. 



The End 



INDEX 



Abana -67 

Abd el-Kader 

Abd el-Melik 411-415 

Abil • • • 589 

Abou Ghosh 37 4j 478 

Abraham's Oak 436 

Absalom's Tomb . In 

Acra g 

Adrian I2 

Adullam, Cave of 246, 384-385 

Adultery punished by death ... 213 

Aelia Capitolina • I2 

'Ain Fidjeh 567 

'Am Tidy 450-451 

'Ain Karim . . 315-319, 489 

'Ain Mousa _ _ r,r 

'AinTabigha 593~595 

'Ain Urtas ^, 

Ajlun (Eglon) 254 

Akir (Ekron) 262 

Alexander the Great IO 

Algerine Fathers _ 326 

Altar of Wise Men 463 

Altitude of Jerusalem 289 

Ambrose on site of Golgotha ... 30 

American Colony 4 y 2 _^_. 

American Consul 473-474 

American Pilgrims 364 

Amman . - , „ 

, 5 2 9 

Amusements 1 70-1 71 

Ankle-rings . T , 2 

Antiquities, spurious 322-326 

Antonines j5 2 

Antoninus the Martyr 51-52 

Apples of Sodom 450-451 

Aqueducts . ..- 383-384 

Arabic Culture 417-419 

Arab Shepherd 303 

Arabs, Cruelty of Ilg 

Arabs, Origin of 1 20-1 21 

Arbela ' 59 5 

Arch of Robinson 370-374, 481 

Arculphus . 52-54 

Arghileh, the !68 



PAGE 

Armenians 469 

Ascension, Mass at traditional site of 351 

Ascension, the 4 66 

Ascension, traditional site of ... 352-355 

Ascension, true site of 331 

Askalan (Ashkelon) . .... 259 

Asmoneans rl 

Athanasius on the site of Golgotha . 28 

Baalbek -6y 

Babies, Care of 209-210 

Banias . 583-589 

Bakers J2 6 

Barrada ... 567 

Barbers 122-124 

Barclay's Gate 357 

Bards 2 i6 

Bordeaux Pilgrim 45-46 

Basil (of Cassarea) on the site of Golgotha 29 
Basil (of Seleucia) on the site of Golgotha 29-30 

Baskets 151 — ^52 

Bath in Dead Sea 450 

Baths lgQ 

Bazaars of Damascus 560-561 

Beards 162 

Beatitudes, Mount of 590 

Bedawin . . . 120, 229 311.440,452-453 

Bedawin Burial Customs 238-239 

Bedawin Clothing of Women . . . 230-233 

Bedawin Lands . 237-238 

Bedawin Marriage Customs . . . 233-237 

Bedawin Men's Clothing 237 

Bedawin of Southern Palestine . . . 244 

Bedawin Women 2 ^6 

Bede on site of Golgotha 31-32 

Beds 199-200 

Beehives l ^ 2 

Bees 220 

Beggars 198-199, 305-306 

Beitin 629-630 

Beit-Jibrin 248-249 

Bethany . 303-304, 331, 366 

Bethesda . .' 3S9-391 

Bethel 629-630 

Bethlehem . 346-349, 356, 455, 465, 469, 476 



632 



Index 





PAGE 






PAGE 


Bethlehemites 


150-151 


Church of St. Anne .... 




33° 


Bethphage 


306-309 


Church of St. George . . 




245-246 


Betrothals 


211 


Church of the "Our Father" 




35° 


Bethsaida 


S94 


Church of the Virgin 




420-422 


Bethulia 


■ 614 


Circassians .... 




528 


Bibars 


5 58 


Cisterns at Jerusalem 


.481, 


485-486 


Bird-lime 


164 


Clermont-Ganneau on Tomb of Nicodemus 66-70 


Birket Israil 


■ 39°"39 I 


Climate of Jerusalem . . 14, 310, 


O V ' 


404, 471 


Birket Mamilla 


402 


Clothes ..... 




161 






Clothing of "Women 




201—202 




131 


Coenaculum 




467-468 


Boheira 


• 549-55° 


Coffee 




168 






Coffee-shops 










Condition of Arabs 




220 
ooy 


Bread 


166 


Confectioners 




1 2 6— 127 


Bread, Manner of Baking 


3°5 


Congregation of Priests of Sion 




489 


"Breviary, the" 


48-49 


Consanguinity 




171 




. 270-274 


Conscription 




172-173 


Burial of a Jew 


33 1 


Constantine, Church of 




J / / 


Burial of the Dead 


225-229 


Conversions of Muslims 




306 


Butchers 


1 24-1 2 5 


Coppersmiths 






Butter 


218 


Correspondence 




22 1 


Cassarea Philippi 


• 583-587 


Cotton Carders 




127— I 2.8 


Caiaphas, House of . . . . 


468 


"Credo" Grotto 


o j j 


-264-2.6 ^ 


Calvary 


. 296-297 


Criers 




I 2. 7 




97 


Crimes .... . . 




227 


Calvary, Mass at 


97-98, 112 


Cross, Way of 




286-288 


Calvary of Gordon 


476 


Crusaders 




I A 


Camels i 


18, 146—149 


Cup-shaped Hollows 




J O J J *T 




599 


Cyclopean Wall 






Cave of Pelagia 




Daggers 




I 1 3 


Capharnaum 


■ 592-593 


Damascus 




Ss6 


Caphr-Keffre 


427 


Dan 










Dare va 




r c c 
j j j 


Canatha ) 


552 


David's Tomb 




468 


Carmel 




Dead Sea 




440—44 ^ 


Carmelite Nun, Funeral of 


402-403 


Decapolis . . 






Carmelite Nuns of Olivet 


. 363-364 


Der'at 




544—547 


Carpenters 


• 133-134 


Dervishes 




SO A 


Carpets, Manufacture of ... 


-> 2 1 — 1 2 2 


Desert of Judaea 




■2 T O— U I 


Cats 


*59 


Diseases 




I 7 A— 17 7 


Caves at Bcit-Jibrin .... 


■ 249-250 


Doctors 




1 q: 

j y j 


Chapel of "Dominus Flevit" 


. 328,481 


Dogs at TcTusalem 




125-126 


Chapel of Mary's Agony .... 


• 294-205 


Dogs of Fellahin 




158-159 


Chapel of St. Toseph 


464 


Dolmens 




5 1 3-5 1 5 


Chapel of Sorrows of Mary 


357 


Dome of the Rock 




4 1 0-420 


Chapel of the Flagellation 


385 


Dominicans 




363 




464 


Dominicans of St. Etienne 


■ s 4 


-S7, 245 


Charaba 


55 2 


Dothan 




614 


Charcoal 


149 


Druses 




545 


Children 


. 222-224 


Dvers 




130 131 


Chosroes 


3 1 3 


Eating. Manner of 




1 69-1 70 


Christianity in Palestine .... 


455-45 6 


Ebal, Mt 




626 


Christians 


120 


"Ecce Homo" . . 355-356 


-359- 


-360, 467 


Chrysostom on the Site of Golgotha 


29 


Edhra'a 




553 


Church of Holy Sepulchre 


■ 293-301 


Edrei 




553 



INDEX 



633 



PAGE 

El-Aksa 407—420 

El-Al 53 1 

El-Benat 478 

El-Buka'a . 529 

El-Husn 543 

®1-J3> 424-425 

El-Jubeb 552 

El-Mizzeh 477 

El-Muhraka 61 1-6 12 

Eliah's Sacrifice. Place of .... 611-612 

Elisha's Spring - IO 

Emmaus 426-42- 

Engedi 450-451 

Epiphanius on the Site of Golgotha . 2 8- 2 9 

Epiphany, the 365 

Epitome of pseudo Eucherius . . . 47-4S 

Esdraelon 606 

Eshdud (Ashdod) 260 

Eudocia S7-8S 

Eusebius. Testimonv of - . . . 41-4^ 

Excavations at Jerusalem .... 370-374 

Expenses of Fellah Family .... 160-161 

Ezr ' a ' 553-554 

Faquirs ... . 311-312 

Family Life 201 

Family -Ties z -j T 

Farms 1S0-1S1 

Farriers . T -> -. 

A oo 

Fast of Ramadan .... . . 289-290 

Fatalism ^4 

Fowling 163-164 

Feast of Bairam ,,- 

Feasts 22--22S 

Fellahin j.g 

Fellah's Love of Land 207 

Fiddlers 2I -, 

Fi gs 21S-219 

Fire-Arms 162-163 

Fleas l6o 

Fonck's Theory of the Holy Sepulchre 72-76 

Fountain of the Virgin ..... 483-484 

Fount of the Virgin at Nazareth . . 602-603 

Franciscans -> ,g 

French Language 47! 

Frescoes at St. Anne 389-390 

Funeral of the Patriarch 398 

Furniture 155-158 

G* 2 * 255-259 

Gennesaret. Lake of 593-59S 

Gennesaxet. Plain of 594 

Gerizim 621-627 

Gerizim. Mt. . . .- 624-62- 

Gethsemane .... 100. 110-1 11. 361. 501 

Gethsemane, Mass at 113-114 

Gezer . 262-286, 488 

Ghosts 1 q -» 



PAGE 

Ghubaghib — 

Gibeon • . 424—42 - 

Gihon 482- 1 ■ 1 

Gipsies 240-243 

Gleaning 20g 

Gleaners ; 221 

Gomorrah 444 

Goldsmiths 1* 1—1^2 

Golgotha • 2S-32 

Golgotha, Arguments against . . . 57-91 

Good Samaritan, Inn of 509 

Gordon's Calvary 78-79, 91 

Gordon's "Holy Sepulchre" 79-S4-99-100, 504-505 

Grapes 219 

Graves ,26 

Greek Ceremonies -03 

Greek Clergy gg 

Greek Liturgy 335-337,368-369 

Greek Priests, Corruption of ... 430 
Greek Priests, Simony of .... 369 

Greengrocers I2 _l 

Grocers in the East I2 i 

Grotemever-Surenburs: - -- - 6 

Grotto of the Agony 101-103 

Grotto of the Agony, Mass at ... 466 
Grotto of the "Credo" . . . 3^5.364-56^ 
Grotto of Jeremiah . . . 78-79,478-479 

Grotto of the Nativity 455-465 

Grotto of St. John 3^ 

Gunsmiths . T i?- t-ii 

Hadj Route 333 

"Hadj" the 555-556 

Haggai's Seal 373 

Haifa 607 

Hair, Manners of Wearing .... 162 

Hakeldama 333 

Handkerchief ' . z6 2 

Hauran 544-55 5 

Hamvar . -.8-, 

H aram es-Sherif 407—420 

Haram of Hebron 430-435 

Harem, the 2 oi 

Harun er-Rashid 417-418 

Hasbani 588-589 

Hattin, Horns of -gg 

Hebron 431-43S 

Helena's Work at Bethlehem . . . 462-463 

Helena visits Jerusalem 12-13 

Helen Queen of Adiabene .... 391-397 

Heliopolis 367 

Hens ' 159-160 

Hermon, Mt. . . . . . . . . 555,583 

Herod Agrippa 34-35 

Herodion 383-384 

Hesban 519-520 

Hezekiah's Pool io 6 



(334 



Index 



PAGE PAGE 



Holv Cross, Scmmarv of 




2 06— 267 


Ivefr Kenna 






j 77 


Holy Fire 




j j j 


Keimun 






6l2 


Holy Sepulchre 26, 290-291, 298 


- 2 1 


1 7Q 7 A A 

J «J J uz t 


Kerak 
Ivermcl 






2 

438 


Holv Sepulchre, Devotion at 




n a 06 — n 7 
y*f? y u y/ 


Ivhan Hadrur 






K OO 

j y 


Holy Sepulchre of Gordon 






Ivharitun 




384- 


-?8; 


Holv Sepulchre, History of 




2 2—20? 

y f yo 


Ividron 




J 


O 


Holy Sepulchre Mass at 




o C 

yj 


Ivishon 






6l2 


Holy Sepulchre, Procession in 




112 


"Kokim" 




7< 


/ 


Holy Thursday 




;oi 

j 


Koran, Reading of 






18c; 


Horns of Hattin 




o yy 


Kubbet es Sakhrah 




41 0- 




Honey 




T77 o 9 o 


Ivubeibe 




426- 


-42 7 


Hospitality 




168-169 


Laish 






588 


Houses of Fellahin 




i ^ I cro 


Lake of Gennesaret 




^0 1- 

yo 


-sq8 


Hunting 




1 6 3 


Lake of Tiberias 




V 
jyo 


-598 

J7 


Infant Sacrifice 




276 


Lamps 






I c 7 


Insane Care of 




24 C 


Land Tenure 




178- 


-182 


Inscriptions at St. Stephen's 




86 


Laivua^e of Fellahm 






178 


T abbok 






Lavigerie s Fathers 




342- 


-34^ 
j'tj 


Jacob's Well 




6^7-6^8 


Lazarus' Tomb 


? 1— ? ^ . z 66- 


-?67, 


480 


Jaffa 




1-2 


Lejah, the 


^44- 


j ■ j ' 


J J 


Jaffa Boatmen at 




2 


Leper Hospital 






J.7 6 


Jaffa Landing at 






Leprosy 


107- 

y / 


-198, 


3 3 2 


Jebel ed-Druse 




^ 4 s 


Leshem 






58S 


Jebel Furavdis 




383-38.1 


Liabilitv 






17 1 


Tebel Usdum 




1 1 T 
-t-t 1 


Lime-kilns 






1 40 
- 1 -+y 


Jebus .... 




I O 


Litany Jewish 






ojy 


Jenin 




612-61 5 


Lon o'evitv 






*? c 


Jerash . ' . 




c 2 2 — c 1 
000 o4 u 


Macha?rus 






616 


Jeremiah's Grotto ... 7 


5-79 


A78— 17o 


Machpelah 




433- 


-4 ? \ 


Jerome on Site of Golgotha . 




3 I 




Madaba 




CI7- 

J / 


-ao 
j y 


Jerusalem 5-14, 94-95, 


3 38— A C4. 
JO TJH 


Magdala 




<;ck- 

J 7 J 


- ^q6 


Jerusalem destroyed by Titus . 




I 2 


Mam re 






4^6 


Jerusalem governed by Ptolemies 




IO 


Mamun 




417- 


-419 


Jerusalem pillaged by Chosroes 




*3 


Marissa, Tombs at . 




250- 


-251 


Jerusalem plundered by Antiochus 




1 


Marriage 


... 1S6- 


-187, 


2 11 


Jerusalem, Shops of 




118 


Marriage Customs 




188- 


-190 


Jerusalem under the Khalifs 




14 


Marriages, second 




2 10- 


-217 


Jewish Fanaticism 




382 


Mar Saba 




312- 


-3!5 


Jewish Funeral . 




IOO-IOI 


Masada 




446- 


-448 


Jewish Mode of Burial 




33 1 
490-50 1 
244 


Masons 






!5! 


Jewish Passover 




Massacre at Damascus 




558- 


"559 


Jewish Quarter of Jerusalem 




Meals 




204- 


" 2 °5 




vlV'prri Hi 1 cn'im c\ cri > tn 

1VJ. l„ k_ V. cl , -L IJglllllcigL L'J 






229 


Jews 


119, 


359. 429 


VI prlipin^^ 
AT (^0*1 r1 rl c\ 




1 74" 


~ l 77 
612 


Jews, accursed by Muslims 




228 




Jews' Wailing Place 




3 57-359 


W 1 >l 1 1 'l n 






3 6 9 


John the Baptist 




616-617 


Me is 






Jordan ^ 1 t 


-5 12 


588-589 


MpiHpI 




595- 


"59^ 


Joseph's Tomb 




628 


Menhirs 






;n 

J O 


Justinian's Church 




420-422 


Merchants 






135 


Kabur es-Saladin 




391-397 


Merdj el-Ghuruk 






614 


Kaimmakam of Hebron 




437-438 


Midwives 




209- 


-210 


Kastal 




478 


Milk 




218 


Katherine Emmerich on Holy Sepu 


chre 


75 


Millers . 




127- 


•128 


Kedesh (Kades) 




589-591 


Millo 




116- 


117 



IXDEX 



635 



PAGE 

Mills 157 

Mithiha 614 

Monasticism 346 

Money 140 

Money Changers 139-140 

Mongols 55S 

Morality of Fellanin 1S2-1S4 

Mosaic at St. Stephen's ..... 86-87 

Mosaics of Madaba 518-519 

Moses Bar-Cepha on Site of Golgotha 31 

Moses. Legend of ". 228-229 

Mosque of Damascus 562-563 

Mosque of Omar 407-420 

Mother-of-Pearl 150-151 

Mount of Beatitudes 599 

Mount of Olives 112-113,365 

Mourning- . 207 

& — / 

Muezzin 301-302 

Mukari 136-137 

Museums 321—322 

Muslim Attitude ax Prayer .... 247-248 

Muslims 40 7 -4 2 o 

Xabatean Inscriptions . _ ^51 

Nabulus . . - . 619-626 

Xahr Banias 3S8 

Xahr Leddan >S8 

^aim 607 

Nazareth 601-608 

Xebi Mousa, Pilgrimage jjf .... 502-^03 

Nebi Samouil 425—426 

^ ebo ..... 515-517 

Xotre Dame de France 329 

Xowar Funeral 403-404 

Xowar, Misery of ^28 

Oak of Abraham 436 

Oil Merchants 135-136 

Olivet 381,388 

Omar 407-420 

Omar captures Jerusalem .... 13 

Omeivades — 

3 3 1 

Ophthalmia 196-197 

Ophel ' o 

Oriental Duplicity 437-438 

Origen on the Site of Golgotha ... 28 

Oxen, Value of 179-1S0 

Palm Sunday 489 

Porters 145-146 

Partridges ^3 

Passover of Samaritans 622-626 

Passover of the Jews 490-501 

Patriarch of Jerusalem 397 

Pelagia. Cave of 354-355 

Pella, Christians at 35 

Perfumers in the East 1 21-12 2 

Philadelphia 522 

Pharpar 555 



PAGE 

Pilgrims 454 

Pillar-Stones cf Gezer .... 274-276 

Pipes 162 

Ploughing, .- . T So 

Ploughing, Manner of 339 

Poisons 176-177 

Polygamy 18 7-1 88 

Pool, Lower 483-484 

Pool of Gihon 482-4S4 

Pool of Hezekiah io 6 

Pools of Solomon .... 383-384, 430-432 

Population of Jerusalem 14 

p ots I4I 

Potters 141 

Pottery , - , 

Praetorium, Site of 338 

Prayers of Muslims 191-102 

Preaching at St. Etienne .... 423-424 

Prison of Christ 3S5-386 

Probatic Pool ........ 327 

Quarry at Baalbek -g 2 

Rabbath-Ammon 321 

Racham . . . _ 

Rachel's Tomb . . 

o4/ 

Railroad from Jaffa to Jerusalem . 4 

Rain 32 s 

Rainfall 406-407 

Ramadan 1 y 0; 289-290 

Ramadan, the Fast of 190-191 

Rationalism at St. Etienne . . . 345 

Ratisbonne's Grave 319 

Razors jg. 

Relatives j- x 

Religious Rivalry in Holy Land . . 291 

Rings ^2 

Robinson's Arch 37°~374, 4&1 

Rock Cuttings at St. Stephen's . . 85-86 

Rock Levels of Jerusalem .... 65 

Romans, Jerusalem under the . . . 33-39 

Royal Caverns 4^3 

Russian Chapel on Olivet .... 328 

Russian Convent, Ruins in ... 319-321 

Russian Pilgrims 429-430 

Russian Tower . . ' 375-376 

Sacrifices of Children 2S1-282 

Saddles 143-144 

Saewulf 54-56 

St. Silvia . . 46-4- 

St. Stephen 3-^ 

St. Stephen's Church. S4-S6 

St. Stephen's Place of Martyrdom . S7-90 

Salah ed-Din, Tomb of 366 

Samaria 614-619 

Samaritan Passover 622-626 

Samaritans ......... 619-626 

Samasry 12+ 



636 



Index 





PAGE 




PAGE 


San our 


... 614 


Stables of Solomon .... 


420—422 


Sandahannah 


. . . 250-252 


Stone in Ouarrv at Baalbek 


582 


Schafat 


••■ 3°3 


Stone of Anointing .... 




Schick's Description of Gordon's Holy 


Stoning, Place of 


■ ■ 79 




. .. ■ 79~°4 


Straight Way at Damascus . 


^Q— ^60 




• • ■ 37 0_ 3 62 


Streets of Jerusalem 


2 s— 26 


Schick s Views on Golgotha 


• • ■ 59- 61 


Studies at St. Etienne 


IO3-IO5 


School at St. Stephen s 


■ • • 9 1_ 93 


Subeibeh 


58?-;84 




A T T 


Superstitions 


I SO— IDs 


Semumve 


607 


Sunamein _ 


^ ^ J. 

JJT 1 


Sealed Fountain 


43° 


Swords . 


16s 


Seal of Haggai 


• ■ ■ 373 


Ta'amireh, the 


A. ^ 2— A s 7. 


Sea of Galilee 


593-59 8 


Taanach 


6l2 




6 1 x~t> 1 9 


Tabor 


^84-t:86 




614—619 


Tailors 


128 


seDen 


■ ■ 440-44O 


Tanners 




Sedjed 


487 


Tarbush, the 


n8 






Tattooing 


144— 14 s 




/C _ Q - _ 


Tell el-Hesv 


2^2— 2C4 






Tell el-Kassis 


6i-> 


So nnnrK 


f\r\r\ A r\ *- 


Tell es-Zecheriah 


24.8 


Shapira s Forgeries 


3 22 -3 20 


Tell Keimun 


612 


Shore of Dead Sea 


441-45° 


Tell Mutesselim 


612 


Shepherds' Field 


• • • 35° 


Templars 


611 


CU ,'1^1-, 


A G A ~ 


Tents of Bedawin 


2 10— 2 1 1 


Shoemakers 


I28—I29 


Tents of Bedawin, Furniture 


■ • 2 3 I_2 3 2 


Shuwaikeh 


24b 


Tertullian on the Site of Golgotha 





Sick. Care of the 174—177 


• l 95~i9%: 224-225 


The Copts 


oS— oo 




. . . 428-294 


The Emmaus of Luke 


287-288 


Siloah, Pool of 


404 


Thekoa . 




Siloah Inscription .... 


• ■ ■ 484 


Tiberias 


>q6— ^q8 


Silversmiths .... 


■ ■ • 131 


Tinsmiths 


1 22 


Silwan 


• ■ • 428-429 


Tobacco 


I ■? 8— I T.Q 


Simon the Tanner, House of 


• ■ 3 


Tomb of Abraham 


-X 1 i— X 1 % 


Simony of Greek Priests 


3 6 9 


Tomb of Blessed Virgin Mary 


34O—34I 




-, - - -, ~ A 

■ ■ • 333-35° 


Tomb of David 


468 


oister :uarv ot ot. .raui iviiici 


. ~ a 
400 


Tomb of Joseph 


628 




355-356, 467 


Tomb of Lazarus 


566—367 


Skeletons Found at Gezer 


. . . 270-271 


Tomb of Pharaoh's Daughter 


429 


Skulls found at Gezer . 


2O0-20Q 


Tomb of Rachel 


1 XI 


ei.,.11 tt;ii 


_ 

■ • ■ 78-79 


Tomb of St. Eusebius 


464 


Slaves . . y. 


IS4— 185 


Tomb of St. James 


487 


Smokers 


172 


Tomb of St Joseph 


341 




25 


Tomb of Samuel 


4 2 5—426 


C„„ff 


T A -1 


Tomb of Zacharias 


487 




t 35 _I 3^, I0 9 


Tomb so Called of Nicodemus 


6-7-7 2 


Sodom 


444 


Tombs Ancient 


470— 480 


Sceurs Reparatrices 


• • • 405-407 


Tombs, Ancient Rock Cut 


. . 66-68 


Soldiers 


■ • • 172-174 


Tombs at St. Stephen's 


84-S6, 361 


Solomon's Pools 


3 S 3-3 S 4, 430-432 


Tombs in Kidron Valley 


• • 487 


Solomon's Stables . 


. . . 420-422 


Tombs of Joachim and Anna 


341 


Souterrains at Jerusalem 


360-361 


Tombs of the Judges .... 


334-335 


Sparrows 


160 


Tombs of the Kings .... 


• ■ 39 J -397 


Spears 


• ■ 133 


Tombs of the Prophets 


■ • 349 


Squatting 


169 


Tombs, Rock-Cut . . . 332 


-334- 400. 402 


Stables ...... 


158 


Tombs, Violation of .... 


• • 363 



IXDEX 



637 



PAGE 

Topography of Jerusalem .... 104-106 

Towels 169 

Transfiguration, Site of 5S3-587 

Trappists of Latroun . . . ". . . 2S6 

Traps for Birds 164 

Troglodytes 279-280 

Truthfulness 1S3 

Turkish Misrule 258-259 

Turmus 'Aya 629 

Tyropoeon 6-S 

Umm Bagheg 445 

Tl mm Rabbi 530 

Unclean Animals 166—167 

Valley of Hinnom 5-S 

Valley of Jehoshaphat 5 

Valley of Nabulus 619-621 

Valley of Terebinth 246 

Vespasian . 35 

Vineyards 219-220 

Virgin's Fountain . . . . 111-112. 483-4S4 

Visiting 224 

Voices of the Fellahin 172 

Vows 221 

Voyage to Dead Sea 430-453 

Wady el-Deheb 552 

Wady el-Kelt 50S 

Wady er-Rababy . . . 117. 33 j, 398, 399 

Wady es-Sant 246 

Wady Kefren 513 

Wages at Jerusalem - . 315 

Wailing Place of Jews 357~359 



Walks, a Walk outside the City 
Wall, St. Paul's ....... 

Walls of Jerusalem . . . 310. 370- 
Wall. the Second .... 60-66, 

Warren's Excavations 

Water Carriers 

Water-Skins 

Way of the Cross 3S6- 

Weapons 

Weather Conditions 

Weavers 

Well of Jacob 

Wharves • 

the 

Wilson on Tomb of Xicodemus 

Wilson s Golgotha 

Woman, Family Life of 

Woman in the East 

Woman's Earnings 

Woman's Property 

Woman's Religion 

Woman's Work . 

Women. Clothing of 

Women Fellah 

Women gathering Wood .... 

Women, Seclusion of 

Yebna (Jamais) 

Zion 9-10, 1 1 4-1 1 7, 

Ziph 

Zou el-Hidggiath 

Zueret el-Tahta 



55<S 
374- 407 
321-329 
37o-374 

151 
142-143 
388-454 

165 

468 

!35 
627-628 
1 



i8j 



00 
186 

-24-I 



1 90 
62. 209 

1S6 
165-168 

219 
1S4-1S5 

261 
467-46S 

438 

423 

440 



DCC 20 1906 



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